Please Go Home
by skimmingsurfaces
Summary: Curious about her conversation with her aunt concerning her parents, Cici goes to Pinky to come up with a solution to reunite her with them. Meanwhile, Brain and Brie have some unspoken issues of their own - because they're both just so darn stubborn - but then must band together to face the horrors of Pinky and Cici's "surprise". Cowritten with StarShineDC. Eventual P/B
1. Chapter 1

Blue eyes scanned the countertop warily. Leaving no nook or cranny unlooked at. Pinky crept out from behind the cage, barely able to smother a giggle before shushing himself. He couldn't ruin it! Tiptoeing past the bookshelf, he peered through several pages to and even climbed to the tippy-top of the shelf. But alas, nothing. Humming to himself thoughtfully, Pinky tapped his chin and glanced upward. Oh, his brain was hurting now. His gaze roved over several beakers and test tubes. Aha! He crouched down on all fours, wiggling his tail in the air, and sproinged.

From her hiding place behind the VCR, Cici giggled as she watched her parent fail at finding her. Hide and seek was his favorite game, but he wasn't very good at it. She'd have to go easier on him next time. Ducking down behind it again, she fluffed up the pink ribbon tied around her neck, Pinky's latest present to her, and waited to be found. She'd give him five more minutes before changing hiding spots.

Brie noticed her as soon as she climbed onto the countertop. Kid really needed to learn how to tuck in her tail, but she didn't say anything. It was much more entertaining to watch Pinky try and find her. She sent him a wave. "Hey, Pinky. Playing a game?"

"Hi, sister dear!" Pinky smiled, upside down now to see if a different perspective would help, legs wobbling in the air. "It's Hide and Seek! _Narf! _ Guess which part I'm doing!"

She tilted her head to the side, smile widening. Pinky never failed to cause that particular reaction. "A stealth ninja like you? Definitely seeking," she teased, knowing he wouldn't get it.

"Hoorah!" He cheered, right before tumbling over. Shaking his head, he stood up and brushed off his fur. "You got it right! I'm trying to seek Cici." He paused to laugh at how similar the two words sounded. "But she's a very good hider."

"Four month old's - they're brilliant." She moved closer to the VCR, leaning against it mainly to see if he'd notice her tail jutting out. It was like having _two_ four month old's. It was great. "I think you can find her, Pinky. It's almost eight, anyway. Brainiac should be coming around to drag you away soon."

Cici sighed as she heard Auntie Brie's voice come closer. Oh, no fair. She was giving him hints! Not that he'd pick up on them though. Her mommy-daddy wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, at least that's what Brain said.

"Oh, she is brilliant!" Pinky clapped, following Brie to the VCR. "She learned her times tables today! Though, I don't know why Brain wanted her to learn how to tell time with a table... we have clocks for that." He shrugged it off, used to all the strange smarty things. "Oh, I hope I can find her soon, sister dear! I don't want to not say goodnight before we go. Goodnights are very important!"

Brie giggled, as used to his nonsense as he was the smarty things. "I think Cici knows how important they are if she managed to learn her times tables in one whole day. And it's a math thing, kitsel, not a telling-time thing."

Pinky liked Brie's silly-willy words almost as much as Brain's biggly-wiggly ones. Almost. Tail wagging, he laughed in understanding. "Oh, well, that makes sense then 'cause I had no idea what they were doing! _Troz._" It was chance really, he just happened to glance down and saw it. "Egad, sister dear! Our VCR has grown a tail!" He knew it hadn't, but he was delighted to hear the little girl mouse behind it giggle. "Now, how did it do that?"

"Pinky!" Cici poked her head out. "It's me!"

He gasped, hands flying to his cheeks. "You're the VCR?"

Brie laughed, hugging her middle. "Oh, gosh, Pinky, you're the coolest mom ever." She reached out and gave his side a pat since he tended to inspire that reaction from her, but ended up leaving her hand on his arm when she heard the typical throat-clear. There was the typical clench of her gut and the rush of pleasure at having her brother nearby, but that was brushed aside in favor of a scowl and a cocky tilt of her head. "Brainiac's here to spoil the fun."

His eye twitched and he tried very hard not to walk over and remove her hand from the other mouse. He also refused to acknowledge the fact that it was jealousy which gave him the urge in the first place. He wouldn't be jealous of his own sister over her interactions with his friend. "You know I hate that."

"Brain!" Pinky and Cici both chirped, the little mouse running over as the taller one gave him a hug. "I found her, Brain! And I didn't even need to ask her to come out this time!" He said proudly.

"Congratulations," he monotoned, pushing out of the hug. "Now stop that." He looked down at the girl and sighed, reaching out to straighten the bow around her neck. She still had the optimal adorableness awarded to children. "Did you enjoy your game?"

"Yes, it didn't take long at all." She nodded, she wouldn't ruin it for Pinky by saying how her aunt had helped in a way. But now that Brain was here, it only meant one thing, like Brie said. Time to take over the world. Hands clasped in front of her, Cici smiled sweetly, preparing to ask the same question she did every night. "Can I come too this time? Please, daddy?"

His heart fluttered as it did everytime she addressed him by the title, but Brain had already made up his mind. He'd learned very quickly that he'd cave unless he made up his mind beforehand. Besides, they were taking over an airport and that was no place for a child. "Not tonight." But he brushed his fingers over her ear affectionately before he could stop himself, immediately clasped his hands behind his back afterwards. "Perhaps tomorrow if you behave yourself during lessons. Now come, Pinky. We're already behind schedule."

It had been a long shot, but she still tried. She sighed and looked up at Pinky, raising her arms to him. He scooped her up immediately and twirled her around. "Where are we going, Brain?" he asked, spinning her right into Brie's arms.

"The airport, Pinky." A gleam came into his eyes that they were all familiar with. "The president's going to be landing in a few short hours, which is why we need to hurry." He turned his gaze to the two girls, frowning. "You two should behave yourselves. No reorganizing my things again, either. You know I hate that."

"Sure thing, nudnik."

"I know what that means," he snapped and felt the familiar bubble of curiosity. He didn't know _why_ his sister would know Yiddish when she didn't seem to practice the religion the language was associated with. But, as always, he didn't ask. "Come, Pinky." He turned on his heel and started off.

"'Kay!" Pinky nodded, but turned back to Brie and Cici, bending down to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Cici! Goodnight, sister dear!"

Cici patted him on the head, softly, not like Brain tended to even though she knew it meant the same thing essentially. "Bye, Pinky. Take care of Brain."

With a laugh, he saluted her, then spun away to follow his cagemate.

Brie sighed, her bravado dying with her brother's departure. She gave the kid a nuzzle. "You're awfully lucky, bubeleh. You get to have plenty of fun with your parents every day." She couldn't exactly remember ever having _fun_ with hers. "C'mon. Let's go watch them sing the parts of the brain again."

"Okay," Cici readily agreed, but something struck her as funny about what her aunt said. "Didn't you get to play with your parents when you were little, Auntie Brie?"

"My parents were... different. I don't know how much your daddy remembers about them, but you can ask him sometime. I haven't seen them in a long time anyway." She set Cici on her feet, straightening the bow as Brain had done since all the spinning had tilted it. "I like the bow, by the way. Another gift from Pinky?"

Twisting her lips in a pensive look she'd picked up from Brain, she let it go at that. She could tell Brie didn't want to talk about it, but at the same time she was curious. Why wouldn't Brain remember their parents? She'd ask Pinky later. So instead, she smiled and fluffed up her bow as well, quite proud of it. "Yeah! He said it's my birth-month-day." He liked to celebrate and since a year was an awfully long time, he celebrated her birthday every month. Except he didn't know how long months were and didn't really know the exact date either. "Brain told him that it's next week though, it made him sad for a little bit, but then Brain said he could still give it to me." She giggled, well aware of her parents' dynamic.

Amused, Brie held out her hand. The girl had gotten too big for her to carry all the way down to the basement, her stature on par with her brother's. "Even Brainiac knows that there's nothing better than an early birthday present."

Cici took hold of her hand, grinning. "Yeah, but he also knows Pinky's just going to get me another one anyway."

"Bubbee, by the time you're all grown up you're going to have as fancy a closet as he does." Giving the small hand a squeeze, she started down the open drawers, watching her niece to make sure she didn't slip. But her climbing was getting better and better, so they both made it to the floor without incident and it was off to the basement where Brie had been secretly living.

* * *

Hooray! Cici and Brie!

This is StarShineDC and mine's first collab of our OC-verse. My story "Can We Keep Her?" and her story "Sister Dear" take place before (and during/after in the case of "Sister Dear") where Cici and Brie are introduced.

And can I just say that I love Pinky as a parent? xD He's so much fun! And he's such a good mummy! And Brain is an adorable, reluctant father lol. We had a lot of fun with this. Hope you do too!

Cerebral Cortex "Cici" (c) skimmingsurfaces

Brie (c) StarShineDC


	2. Chapter 2

It was Pinky's day to teach her something. They'd set up the schedule some time ago, when Pinky became distressed that he didn't get to help Cici learn any valuable life lessons. So Brain relented and allowed him some sway on her upbringing, aside from affection. The little girl mouse watched as her mommy-daddy folded yet another paper bird. Today's lesson was 'origami', something she was sure Brain had taught him, even if he didn't even know the proper name for it.

"See, Cici? C, c, c, _narf_!" Pinky giggled, waving his creation in the air. "Oregon! It's a bird!" He made it fly around for a bit before handing her a sheet of paper. "Now you try! Practice makes... umm... birds! _Troz!_"

She stuck her tongue out in concentration as she began folding, growing frustrated when the lines weren't even. Her ears drooped and she glanced up at him. The taller mouse just beamed at her, motioning for her to continue. Had she not been with Pinky, she would've turned around to keep him from looking, to surprise him when she could do it all by herself. But she could roll the paper up into a ball and he'd still be proud. It reassured her somewhat, to have a parent who would support her through everything as well as one who wanted to her to succeed... and actually succeed. Both were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but they were the best parents she could've asked for.

Speaking of...

"Pinky?" Cici asked, making another fold in the paper. "Where are Brain and auntie Brie's mommy and daddy?"

"Poit. They're in Florida! Or was it Pittsburg..." Pinky scratched the top of his head before shrugging it off. "Why?"

"Auntie Brie was just saying how her parents were different, and that I was lucky to have you and Brain." She frowned as she examined the wing. It wasn't a perfect right angle. "What does she mean?"

"Hmmm..." Pinky tapped his chin. "Well, they do wear funny gizmos on their heads. That does make them rather different. But they're super parents! They cleaned our cage and everything when they visited last time!"

Cici tilted her head. "They visited?"

"Oh, yes." He rolled up some of the paper into a cone and stuck it on his head. "Before you were born, baby snow mouse." Tapping her on the nose, he rolled up a hat for her too. "We found them in a jar!"

"A jar?" Sometimes it was rather difficult to keep up with Pinky, but she tried her best. "I thought you said they visited."

"They did, after we got them out of the jar! Oh, wait... we put them in the jar, didn't we? _Zort._" Pinky grabbed onto his toes and rocked back and forth. "Well, either way, they're really neat!"

Picking up her oddly shaped bird, though it looked more like a bird than Pinky's first attempt, Cici crawled over to sit in his lap and he wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. "Do you think they could come visit again? I think Auntie Brie wants to see them again. And if they're Brain's parents, that makes them my grandma and grandpa, right?"

Pinky gasped. "That's right, Cici! Oh, you're such a smarty!" He rubbed his nose against hers. "And what a lovely fox! We must show Brain later!"

Her lips quirked up. "Okay, but what about my grandparents?"

"Oh, right!" Pinky bopped himself on the head, making the child giggle. "We should invite them over! Oh, Brain and sister dear would like that, wouldn't they? It'd be like a big ol' family reunion!" He squeezed her tightly, then upon another realization he released her to hold her out at arm's length. "We should invite my family too! Mum and dad and sis!"

Cici's eyes went wide, smiling brightly. "Oh, can we, Daddy? I mean... Mommy." Her ears went down as her smile turned sheepish upon Pinky's look.

It passed quickly and Pinky nodded, bringing her in for another hug. "Yes we can! Cici," he began, bumping their noses together with a huge grin, "are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"I think so, Pinky! But we'll need to get their phone numbers or addresses first!"

"Oh, no, actually... I was pondering how we'll make balloon animals with our tiny arms."

"Oh... poit. Well, we can do that after."

"Hoorah!"

-8-8-

There was still a burn on his tail from their previous night's plot. Usually his and Pinky's injuries were healed by the following day, but things that happened to Brain's tail took a little longer sometimes. Brie paused, passing the piece of Soggy-O's from hand to hand as she watched him work. He was _so_ smart and he worked so quickly even though most of the time he had to hold the pencil with both hands as he scribbled down their plans.

He stopped, leaning back and rubbing his brow as he studied what had already been completed, and went right back to it, muttering under his breath. Something about hydrodynamics, which would probably mean he was working on a plan that would somehow involve the city's water. Or the ocean water. Big dreams, her brother had, big plans.

Brie wanted to help, had offered more than once-

"C'mon, let the kid go. I'll tag along and help keep her out of trouble."

"And have you muck up my plans on purpose? Absolutely not."

-but that never went well. He didn't trust her. With Cici, sure. He knew how much she loved the girl. But not with his plans because they were his and he _thought_ he knew how much she loved him.

She nearly dropped the piece of cereal when he spun suddenly and glared up at her from his seated position. "Are you going to keep staring at me all afternoon? Don't you have other places to go?"

She shrugged. The basement was lonely when the scientists were gone and Cici wasn't available to visit. "Maybe I just like to know what you're going to screw up beforehand," she snapped, which was a long ways off from the "Does your tail hurt?" she'd wanted to say.

His fur bristled and his grip on the pencil changed subtly. He'd never bopped her or Cici or, from her experience, anyone besides Pinky. But she still tensed from it. "As if you could even understand the intricacies of my plans."

"Oh, and Pinky totally gets it."

"Pinky barely understands the intricacies of _breathing_, but at least he's willing to help."

She was willing to help, too. Brain was her only real family, and she loved him so much it hurt. But despair was uncomfortable, quickly and easily turned into irritation. She folded her arms and scowled. "Kish mir en toches."

"I _know_ what that means!" He slapped the pencil down and stood, glaring at her. "And how is it that you even know Yiddish?"

"It's part of talmud Torah. Even girls have to learn the law, you moron."

There was a flicker of uncertainty behind the glare. He hadn't been expecting that. "You're Jewish?"

"Our _family_ is Jewish, you numbskull! God!" She threw up her hands, frustrated. Had she really been thinking about how smart he was? "I know they took you way early, but don't you remember anything about being home? Didn't our parents start in on you like they did me?"

"I... I played in the field... very often before I was taken. I don't recall much about our parents except-"

"I played in the field too," she interrupted, folding her arms defensively, looking down. "How else are you supposed to get away from them?"

"They didn't say anything about us being Jewish," Brain muttered, his own anger receding in light of this new information. They'd had the mannerisms of stereotypical Jewish parents, even mentioning a desire for grandchildren (which had led to the thought of cloning which had led to the creation of Roman Numeral I). But he'd been so busy being frustrated by them and their criticisms of him that he hadn't thought to question it. He himself didn't consciously align himself with any religion, his celebration of holidays more because Pinky would see them on the calendar or on television specials than because of any real interest or affiliation.

Brie's voice, suddenly rather quiet, broke his concentration. "What d'you mean...?"

"Hm? Oh. When they were here, there was no mention of it."

The piece of cereal broke in half at her tightened grip. They'd _been_ there? When? Where were they now? "They were here? Ma and pop were here?"

"Yes. I was attempting to capture wild field mice for a plan and they were lured in. When I realized who they were courtesy of a genetic scan, I gave them each a pensamplavox so that we could communicate without my having to put them through the gene splicer." He considered a moment. "I came to regret that decision rather quickly."

Brie was staring at Brain as though she'd never seen him before, shaking her head. That couldn't be. They couldn't have been there. "Where are they now? What happened to them?"

"The lab was gathering a few animals to be sent to the Everglades, so Pinky and I convinced them that they should take a trip. A preferably permanent one."

"What? And you didn't think _I_ should know?" Suddenly angry again and this time there wasn't any twisting involved, she straightened. "They went out for _food_ and they never came back! They never came home! What? Was taking over the world more important than finding your sister? Maybe letting her know so that she wouldn't spend months and months trying to _find_ them? They're in _Florida_? You... you... You schmuk!"

Brain stared at her, not quite sure of what he was hearing. She'd still been living with them? He quickly calculated her age and decided that such a thing made sense. She'd have been Cici's age when they'd... Oh, dear. "I wasn't aware of your existence. They never spoke of you. I assumed I was an only child."

With a quiet, broken sound, the anger was gone. Brie took a stumbling step back. "What d'you mean? They never said anything? They never let you know they had a little girl back in the field _waiting_ for them to come home?"

"I..." Brain's ears dropped as he realized that that was exactly what had happened. "Brie, I-"

"They left me! They left me all alone! I thought they were dead!" Brain stepped towards her and she moved away quickly, mind reeling, heart racing. They'd gone off to Florida without even telling her own brother that she was alive. They'd just left. "What am I? Just some dirt to wipe off their heels? Oh, yeah." She gave a small laugh that had nothing to do with humor. "Let's drop the kid and move to Florida. She'll be fine. Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm g-great."

"Brie-"

"Shut up! Shut up! Leave me alone!" A sob busting through, she turned and fled, growing up in the fields leaving her much faster than The Brain.

He lifted his hands to his bowed head, shaking it slowly. Clearly, he'd been too hard on the girl. As irritating as she was, she'd grown up on her own, finding them much the same way their parents had. He felt a little ill, suddenly, realizing he came from mice who would abandon a child so quickly. Cici's age.

Straightening, he went off to find the girl and her "mother." Pinky would be able to come up with something ridiculous idea that would cheer Brie up and, with any luck, Brain wouldn't have to do anything mortifying to help. Besides that, he wanted to see Cici and gauge if she was in any sort of state to raise herself at this stage of her development. In a lab, yes. He and Pinky were certainly proof enough of that, but to raise oneself in a field with predators and such? Was she capable of that?

With a sinking feeling, he hypothesized that she wasn't.

"Pinky!"

"Yes, Brain- Hey! Don't pinch, Cici!"

Pinky rubbed his hip, frowning at the child who was struggling to hide her father's log back in it's proper place. The pair had been at a loss of how to contact Brain and Brie's parents on their own, so had no choice but to look through some of his stuff to find some answers. At least that's how Cici placated Pinky, who hated rifling through Brain's things without permission. On her own time, the little mouse did it anyway. It was the closest thing that her dad had to a diary, that she knew of. One of these days she was going to explore the sardine tin in its entirety.

Luckily, she'd been able to get an address and even found plane tickets to Florida dated back to the Thanksgiving before she'd been born. Super stealth mission accomplished.

"Shh! He can't know, Pinky!" Cici placed a finger to her lips, turning back to him. "It's a secret surprise!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Brain! You can't come over here right now! It's secret!" Pinky called back, the child face-palming.

"Oh, for-" Brain rubbed his head, scowling. "Whatever it is, put it away and come out here! Both of you!"

Pinky bent down, letting Cici climb on his back, then wandered over towards the sound of his voice. "Hi, Brain!" He waved, the little mouse he carried wrapped her arms around his shoulders for security and smiled at her second caretaker as well.

Brain frowned at them, attention primarily focused on the little girl. He tried to imagine her alone in a drafty can, forced to face the elements on her own. It made his stomach tighten. He reached out, turning Pinky to pull the girl down. "Come here, Cici."

Her smile faded in the face of his frown, ducking down behind Pinky's shoulder. Did he know she looked in his log? No, she'd been careful. Just like a spy. He couldn't know. Cici climbed down then looked up at him curiously, hands clasped in front of her. "Yes, Brain?"

Why, she wasn't even as tall as he was yet. He reached out and picked her up, holding her at arm's length and looking her over carefully. "It doesn't make any sense," he muttered. This was entirely too young for anyone to simply leave behind without mention. He brought Cici in for a rare hug, wrapping his arms around her and looking at Pinky over her head. "I believe I've made a grievous error in judgement, Pinky."

Oh, he loved when Brain hugged Cici! It was one of the most very adorable things. But Brain didn't look all that happy. Pinky tilted his head, watching as Cici recovered from the surprise of being willingly embraced by this particular parent and smiled as she hugged him back tightly. "How do you mean, Brain?" he asked, looking up from their daughter's wagging tail to Brain's eyes.

"It's difficult to explain." And he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of doing so in front of their daughter. She, too, had once been left behind. _Some_ mice were just not meant to be parents. With a humph, he nuzzled the girl's ear. "My sister is upset over something concerning our parents and needs cheering up."

"Oh!" Both "mother" and daughter exclaimed in unison, Cici pulling back to look up at Brain with excitement in her eyes. "We already know about that!"

"Poit. Yes we do! And we're fixing it!" Pinky nodded firmly, hands on his hips. "We'll make sister dear feel all better soon, Brain! You can count on us!"

"I fear any sort of ploy the two of you may manufacture on your own." Shaking his head, Brain set the girl back on her feet and frowned. "Why didn't either of you inform me if you knew?"

"Well, we wanted it to be a surprise!" Pinky threw his arms out wide, beaming.

Cici nodded happily, Pinky's glee infectious, and thought maybe it would be okay to let Brain help, since it was rather difficult to get things done with just Pinky. Especially when she didn't really know what she was doing herself. "We would've told you, but we just came up with it while Pinky was teaching me oregon."

"She made a fox! Or was it a bird... a bird-fox?"

Oregon and bird. An eye twitched. "Origami," he corrected. And because he wanted absolutely no part in whatever ridiculousness they'd concocted, Brain took a step back. "Fine. Show me later. I've fallen behind on my plans."

"Right, Brain!" Pinky saluted, watching as Cici mimicked him.

"Yes sir!" She chirped right after, feeling quite pleased with herself. The Brain trusted her and Pinky to a task all by themselves. This could be it, maybe if she did a good enough job, he'd let her come and help take over the world. She'd be good, she'd ride on Pinky's shoulders the whole time if she had to. "Come on, Pinky! We've got to find the crayons and some stamps." She tugged on his arm, signalling that she wanted 'up' and Pinky complied.

Crayons and stamps. It was a bit worrying, but Brain was sure Brie would appreciate the thought. She'd gotten misty-eyed at the squished flower Cici had given her for her birthday, after all. So, shaking his head, he put it out of his mind and went back to his plans.

* * *

StarShineDC: ORIGAMI! Birdy, birdy, birdy~  
And awwww~  
Pinky and Cici just want Brie to be happy!  
And Brie angsting over how she can't be nice to her only begotten brother XDDDD

We'll see how this works out~

* * *

And Brain being all huggy with Cici~ Oh, Brain, even with all your fail as a brother, you still make a good daddy lol.


	3. Chapter 3

Cici and Pinky watched from the mail slot as their letters were taken away. One to Florida and one to... wherever Pinky's family was. He seemed to know where it was going, so that was what mattered. Besides, as long as Brain and Brie's parents came, then the cheering up would be a success! The two mice grinned at each other, tails wagging in unison. Pinky hopped down from the door, then held out his arms for his daughter. She leapt down, caught easily by the lanky mouse and spun around before being nuzzled lovingly.

The letters were sure to get responses soon! Cici had even thought to add their phone number, so they could be called and informed of whether or not they could come visit. She figured if they waited on a return letter, then they'd run the risk of not knowing until they showed up on their doorstep alongside their answer. A phone call would give them plenty of time to prepare.

"Egad, brilliant, Cici!" Pinky had complimented and she preened, feeling very much on par with her other father.

Step one was complete! Now all they had to do was wait. Pinky placed Cici on his shoulders, making sure she was holding tight before climbing atop the counter to stroll back to their cage. Maybe he had time to tell her a story before they left for the night. He did love bedtime stories, and missed out on it last night due to their game taking much longer than expected.

"Pinky?" The mouse in question glanced back at her, smiling and nodding for her to go ahead. "Do you think I can come with you and Brain tonight?"

Oh, he was familiar with this. He reached over to pat her head. "Well, that's up to Brain, Cici. But if it were just me, of course you could come!" Pinky blinked as it occurred to him. "Oh, but if it was just me, then we wouldn't have a plan to take over the world with. _Narf!_ So we wouldn't go anywhere anyway."

With a sigh, she rested her head against his neck. Oh, she did love spending time with her auntie. She just didn't like watching them leave, or waking up in the middle of the night to find that they weren't back yet. Well, hopefully after seeing what a good job she did, Brain would be proud enough to let her help and not think she'd just get in the way. She knew that was why Brie couldn't go and figured the same applied to her.

Pinky took notice of her quiet mood as they reached the cage. "Want a bedtime story before we leave, baby snow mouse?"

"Yes, please." She nodded, smiling at the nickname. A glance at the clock told her that they still had some time. "Can we go find Brain and Auntie first?"

"Sure!" Pinky started skipping and twirling, making his way towards where Brain usually scribbled out his plan thingies.

But Brain was tearing the plan out of the small notebook he'd been using. It and the blueprints he'd drawn up would have to be stapled together. Red notes had already been scribbled in the corner and it would all have to be folded up and stashed away in his sardine tin. It was a feasible plan, yes, but no matter how he'd worked the scenario and the timing, there was simply no way of getting Pinky out of the area he was required to be in. At least not a way of getting him out before he drowned and that simply wasn't going to happen.

Fifteen minutes before eight and he was planless. He'd have to go to one of his backups. He shuffled the pages together, looking up when he heard Pinky's very loud footsteps. "You're early, Pinky." He lifted a brow when he caught sight of Cici. "What is it?"

"Cici wanted to see you and your sistah!" Pinky declared, holding his arms out as he balanced on one foot. The small mouse on his back was quite used to these kinds of sudden changes and shifted her weight accordingly. "Before I tell her a beddy-by story and say goodnight. Right, Cici?"

She nodded, then glanced at Brain, noticing the angry red marks on the papers he was holding. His next plan? She hoped so, it was fun to listen to him and Pinky go back and forth as he explained what they were doing. She didn't always get to hear. "Is that the plan?" She pointed at the papers with one hand, keeping her other arm around Pinky's neck for support.

"Only if my brain is forcibly removed," he muttered and tucked the corner of them all in the stapler, climbing up to jump onto the contraption so the staple would go through. He took the pages and folded them carefully. "I'll need to retrieve a back-up plan. As for your aunt, I have no idea where she ran off to." She was normally around by this point and it had been quite a while since she'd missed a night. Then again, she'd run off in tears so he swatted away his annoyance with her. "If she isn't back soon, we'll have to take you to Roman's apartment."

Cici blinked, a little concerned that her aunt wasn't here. Though there were times when she'd vanish for several days, they'd decreased ever since she'd moved into the basement. Maybe she was more upset than she thought. "Can't I just come with you?" She pleaded, even though she loved her big brother too, she really wanted to go on a scheme. "What if tonight's the night you take over the world and I miss it?"

Pinky brought her down from his shoulders and rocked her in his arms to comfort her. "There, there. I'm sure we'll have to do it again tomorrow night, sweetie." Cici snuggled into his chest, he only called her 'sweetie' sometimes, the endearment meaning as much to her as Brain's hugs or pats on the head.

Brain muttered something scathing about his sidekick's lack of confidence under his breath, but even that irritation didn't have him reconsidering his dismissal of the plan he held. "If this is indeed the night we succeed, we'll come and get you. Otherwise, it's unlikely that you'll be able to join us." He strode off towards the cage. This needed to be put in his tin and another plan needed to be retrieved from the matchbox.

Pinky followed Brain, rubbing their daughter's back. "Oh, Brain, it's just one night. She can stay with me the whole time, I won't let anything happen!"

But he looked at the plans in his hands, considered how dangerous so many of their schemes ended up being, and shook his head rapidly. She was too small. He thought of his sister in a drafty can. Entirely too small. "No, Pinky. Not tonight." This time, his tone left no room for argument.

"Right, Brain." Pinky nodded, then looked down at Cici. "Come on, baby snow mouse, let's get you some things to play with while you're at Romy's! _Zort._" He set her down and went to gather her favorite blanket and some other little odds and ends he'd collected for her.

Cici watched him, pouting for a few moments before sighing and giving up. It wouldn't do any good. She turned to Brain instead. "So, Auntie Brie just left? She's coming back, right?" They still had the surprise to show her.

He went to his tin, picking her up and turning her to face away from it when she followed. "If you look, you'll be grounded. And I will know if you look," he warned before prying the container open. "She left because she was distressed, a typical reaction for her age and gender." And he was not looking forward to Cici's teenage months. "I can't be certain when she'll return, but she always has so far."

"Poit." She mumbled, rocking on her heels as she waited for Brain to finish looking through his tin, staring at the ground. "I hope it's soon. Pinky and I already started the surprise." Quite tempted to glance over her shoulder, she kept her gaze firmly rooted. "And I didn't get to say goodbye." A clatter drew her attention over to Pinky, stumbling about with several crayons to pack for her. As if Roman and Bunny didn't have crayons. He was packing an awful lot of stuff. "You promise to come get me when you're done, right?"

"Of course." The plans tucked inside, he had to stand on the tin and jump a few times to make it close. Hm. He clearly needed a new one or a different filing system. Perhaps it was time to stop putting off ordering a scanner for the lab. He tilted it back against the cage wall and stepped up to stand beside Cici, giving her head a pat. "We'll have to remove half of what he's packing, but leave him be for the moment. It's been a while since you've had to go to Roman's for a night."

"Should we call him and ask if it's okay?" She asked, leaning into his side. "What if he's busy?" Not like it stopped them before. One time they dropped her off right before Romy and Bunny were heading out on a date and left so quickly, her brother didn't have time to protest. So the date was cancelled and replaced with a Bisney movie marathon. She felt bad, but at the same time it was really funny. Besides, it wasn't her fault she couldn't stay home alone in the cage yet and needed to be looked after.

"We'll have Pinky call. It'll distract him while you empty that bag." He looked down at her and sighed. "Cici, perhaps tomorrow night I'll devise a plan that will allow us to stay in the lab. Except, of course, tonight's plan _will_ work," he added quickly. "Whatever tonight's plan ends up being. Hm." Brain strolled away to their matchbox bed and pushed out the side, where scrolls of backup plans were placed. He began to dig through them, unrolling and discarding as he went. They were too late for many of them, needed too much money, needed too many supplies. He began to mutter to himself. What good were backup plans if they weren't readily available to be put into action?

Cici raised a brow as she watched him, then shook her head and left him to it. Pinky seemed about done anyway. She peered inside the crammed bejeweled clutch Pinky found one day, then looked up at him. "You plan on sending me off to live with the circus, Pinky?" she asked with a smile.

"The circus! Oh, what fun!" He laughed, scooping her up and spinning her. "Oh, wait no! We can't go to the circus. We'll scare all the elephants. Then it will be ruined." Pinky shook his head and set her down on the ground again.

"Pinky!" Plan found, Brain leapt to his feet and whatever they were doing was ignored entirely. "Go down to the basement and get my mechanical suit. I have tonight's plan and if we act quickly, we'll even have time to drop Cici off on the way."

"Egad, what're we doing tonight, Brain?" Pinky asked on his way to the cage door.

"What do you think we're- No, for my sanity's sake, don't answer that. Just fetch me my suit, Pinky. I'll explain the plan on the way."

-8-8-

It had been too long since he'd used the suit and, much to Brain's irritation, it was now stuck in the middle of a miniature golf course. But he supposed it wasn't a total loss. He could build a new model with easier to control pieces. That, however, would have to be saved for another night. Tonight's plan was, as promised, something that could be completed in the lab. As annoying as that was.

He quickly realized that the machine he was building required two sets of hands, so, voice strained as he was trying very hard to keep two pieces of metal together with his bare hands, he called out to his partner. "Pinky! Pinky, get over here!"

The taller mouse looked up from the tea party he'd been enjoying with Cici, boa, and pencil sharpener. Oh, and the little teddy bear pencil topper he'd found for her one day. "Be right there, Brain!" He took a farewell sip of his imaginary tea, then patted Cici on the head. "Sorry, I know it's rude to leave in the middle of a party, but please, carry on without me! _Zort!_" With that, he hopped to his feet and wandered over to where Brain was. "Zounds, Brain! What's this doohicky do?"

"It won't do anything unless we can put it together," he snapped and, his attention averted, one of the sides slipped away and fell heavily. A spring shot up and smacked him, sending him flying to the window to land with a hard _thwack_ and slowly skidded down the glass. "I am reminded of those insufferable Shwindex commercials. Only with more pain," he monotoned and fell from the glass entirely.

"Oh, I don't know, Brain. They are pretty bad. I find it quite difficult to watch sometimes." Pinky replied, making to help Brain up from where he'd fallen.

Cici had watched all this occur, it was all much more exciting than her tea party, then glanced to the metal mess Brain had been trying to work on. She wanted to help, but she wasn't allowed within a certain distance of it, in case of wild springs flying about. Of course, she figured it was just because he thought she'd mess it up. Well, he did a pretty good job of that on his own.

Still, she'd rather them be here. She'd had a nightmare the previous night, probably spurred on by Brie's sudden departure and sleeping in a different place than usual she deduced logically, but it still frightened her. If she had a bad dream tonight, she could just crawl in bed with them.

Thinking of Brie made her wonder, attention sliding back to her parents. She lived in the basement, so she was probably there. Or at least it didn't hurt to check. And if she was there, then she could tell her about the surprise and cheer her up! But the only problem was she couldn't go to the basement alone. Ears drooping for a moment, she pondered the notion of going by herself, without permission. She'd been down there plenty of times with Brie, not that they knew that, but did that matter? She knew how to hop down the steps and where the light switch was.

"What do you guys think?" She addressed her present company, waiting for some kind of majority rules. "I think so too." So it was decided. Now she just needed to wait until both Pinky and Brain were thoroughly distracted, which wouldn't take long if Brain was having so much trouble with his machine thingy.

"Now, Pinky, you need to be very careful with this. It's delicate machinery." Having shaken himself out of his pain-derived dizziness, Brain went back to his machine. "I need these two halves to be pressed together. Once they're actually touching, it will lock automatically." He walked over the half that had smacked down to reset the spring that had come loose. "And then these springs won't come undone so easily." He pushed the spring down, waiting for it to click into place, but his hand slipped and he was engulfed entirely within the coils. Brain scowled when Pinky's laughter reached his ears. "When I get out of this, Pinky, remind me to hurt you. Now help me!"

"Right, Brain!" Pinky grinned, grabbing a hold of Brain's waist and tugging up. "Egad, Brain! Your big, chubby head has you all stuck inside!"

Cici couldn't have asked for more perfect timing. Carefully rising from her seat, she bid farewell to her guests then crept along the counter to the drawers Brie always used for them to climb down. Except they were closed today. She'd just have to use the handles then. There were a few close calls, but she managed to make it to the floor in one piece. Puffing out her chest in pride, she straightened her bow and set off for the basement.

The journey was just a tiny bit scary for a little mouse on her own, but she comforted herself with Pinky's cheese song, humming it as she hopped down the stairs one at a time. "Auntie Brie?" She called out when she was almost at the bottom. "Auntie Brie, are you down here?"

The mouse popped out from under the little doll bed she'd been using. Upset always left her with the wild urge to clean, so nearly the entire basement had been organized. It was amazing how much junk her brother had accumulated. But now her mind was on her niece. "Cici!" She hopped out of the drawer her bed was hidden in, but had forgotten that she'd closed the drawers below it. They were usually opened for this, so she had just enough time to note the fact that the floor was below her before her face met it. "Oi..."

Cici finally slid down the last step and scurried over to her aunt. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, but with some relief as well. Brie hadn't gone away. They could still play together and she would still get to see her parents as long as they got the letters.

"Dreidel, dreidel, driedel, I made you out of sawdust," she sang dizzily before shaking herself out of it and grabbing her niece's shoulders. "Cici! What in the world are you doing here in the middle of the day? Your dad'll kill me!"

At least looking somewhat guilty, for she knew there was a high possibility of getting in trouble if she were found out, Cici simply smiled and hugged her. "I'm looking for you of course! I missed you last night!" She pulled away to show her most serious face. "Brain said you left all upset, so I wanted to make sure you were just down here and not anyplace else. But I had to wait until he was distracted with his plan. So, sorry I couldn't look for you earlier." With a decisive nod, she moved in for another hug. "And you don't have to be upset anymore! Pinky and I planned a surprise for you!"

"Aw, I'm sorry, babe." Brie picked her up, squeezing her tight. "I was gonna come up tonight, really. I was just... I was just upset like Brain said. I'm okay now." Sort of. She'd cleaned out most of the tears, a lot of the anger, and some of the shame at how mean she'd been to her brother. "You and Pinky don't have to do anything, bubeleh."

"We already did." She replied, quite used to hugs that squeezed the air out of her. "We were going to do it before we found out you were sad anyway. But we only did the first part, the second part comes after we get the phone calls."

"Phone calls?" Even she knew the rule about using the phone without Brain's permission. "Well, geez, Cici! You better hope they don't call while Brain's around or your surprise may just end up getting you in trouble." She set the girl down, but took her hand to lead her back up the stairs. "Come, Cici, or we'll both get caught down here."

"I thought I just wasn't supposed to make phone calls." She shrugged, giving out their number never seemed to come up, but then again, where did she ever go where that would be an issue? Well, at least she had an adult's permission. Even if no one else considered Pinky to be an adult. Following Brie up the stairs, she silently hoped Brain was still stuck in the spring, or at least stuck in something else and hadn't noticed her disappearance. His plans were always pretty important though, it wasn't likely he got distracted from it.

"Okay. Pretend I never told you any different. Ignorance of the law may not be an excuse, but you're cute. Grants you automatic amnesty."

They made it to the top of the stairs without incident and the wail of, "Pinky! I will mash what little mind you have left if you don't stop this foolishness!" was taken as a good sign.

Cici giggled, her parents were quite amusing and she didn't want to miss whatever Pinky had done this time to make her dad so mad. "Maybe he's still stuck in the spring." She told Brie as they entered the lab. She'd been partially kidding, not honestly expecting to see not only Brain still jammed in the very same spring, but Pinky right in there with him. How he'd managed that she supposed she'd never know.

"Egad, Brain, I'm sorry! I'm trying but we're all squished together like jelly on a sandwich!" Pinky wiggled his hips, apparently something he'd been trying for some time, in attempt to get himself out. It only served to tangle their tails together more and rub their sides together.

"I'll seal you in a jelly jar if you don't- ow!" He'd been trying to turn himself around and the spring had started to give, but he ended up snapping himself and Pinky into a new position. Still very much caught in the spring, his back was very snuggly pressed to Pinky's front and those hips were still wriggling. "Stop it, Pinky! Stop it!"

Brie snorted. "That looks like a personal problem," she teased and Brain went red from ears to tail.

"Why?" Cici asked, it just looked like they were stuck to her. The only problem being that they couldn't get out. Still, it was awfully funny and she couldn't help laughing.

Heeding Brain's frantic orders, Pinky stopped his squirming and looked up to see the two girl mice. "Oh, sister dear! You're back!"

"Oh, highest of joys," was Brain's sarcastic snap and it was he who started to wriggle, ignoring Pinky's presence as much as he could and trying to pull himself up and out of the dratted spring.

Brie just bit her lip to stave off her laughter, embarrassed for her brother. So in the closet. "C'mon, Cici, let's go find a coloring book while they get untangled."

The little mouse nodded, leaving her parents to it, though was especially intrigued when it was Pinky who turned red this time and started protesting. "Brain, I don't think that's working!"

The problem was that it certainly _was_ working, but in very unanticipated ways. This was entirely inappropriate with their daughter and his sister nearby. Not within sight any longer, thankfully, because he did not have the mental capabilities to have The Talk with Cici without quite a bit of mental preparation beforehand. And he was definitely not going to have a similar conversation with Pinky while stuck in a spring!

"Just hold on, Pinky. I've nearly got a hold of the top ring..." If he could pull that down, Pinky would be able to slip out and then Brain would worry about freeing himself. The problem was that while trying to reach, his backside was grinding against Pinky's groin as he lifted to grab one ring and fell back down when he pulled it better into his grasp. "Drat," he muttered, feeling distractingly warm, "I knew we shouldn't have used the last of the three and one oil on the suit last night."

"Then we could be all slippery-slidey-springy! _Narf!_" Pinky laughed, though felt decidedly warm as well. And had to fight the urge to wiggle against Brain with much more restraint than he was used to. "Egad, Brain! What if we never get out? Oh, and I think I left the oven on again! The lab will freeze for sure!"

"Oh, yes, your _toy_ oven will bring destruction down upon us all." Brain managed to grab onto the top spring with a huff of relief. He pressed himself forwards as well as he could with their limited space. "There. Now see if you can get out."

"'Kay." Pinky made sounds of effort as he twisted this way and that to shimmy out of the spring. His shoulders got through, that was a start. Then his arms followed. "I'm free!" He cheered prematurely, his lower half still pressed against Brain.

"Not quite, you idiot." Brain reached out to give him a push. "Keep going."

Despite his wild flailing and lack of coordination, Pinky managed to wiggle out of the spring in one piece. "Now I know how a silkworm feels when it breaks out of its cocoon and becomes a beautiful lawnmower." He held his arms out, stretching his body free of the kinks from being all squished. Observing Brain still in the spring, Pinky clasped his hands together. "It's a lovely feeling, Brain! You should try it! Poit."

Brain only glared, keeping a hold of the spring. He wasn't about to ask for Pinky's help again, since the first attempt had ended up putting them in such a compromising position. He managed to eventually wiggle out, tumbling to the ground. "Now that that little adventure's over..."

With a giggle, Pinky swept him up and spun around. "Now we can both do yard work! Hoorah!"

"Pinky, stop that!" Brain tried pushing away, straining out of his grasp. "We need to get back to work before more springs come loose!"

"Oh, right then!" He dropped the smaller mouse unceremoniously, standing at attention. "You can count on me, Brain! _Narf!_"

Brain got to his feet, brushing himself off. "I'm aware. Now come along and help me push these sides together. I'll hold this end; you push that side back up."

Nodding enthusiastically, Pinky grabbed onto the metal thingy and waited until his cagemate had the other end before pushing. It was rather resistant to being forced together, no wonder Brain had gone flying into the window. "Like this?" he asked as the two ends touched.

"Keep pushing until-" There was a loud click, the two sides locking together. "Yes, that's it. Wonderful, Pinky, you can stop pushing now." Stepping away from the machine, Brain turned to look at it, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, it's lovely, Brain!" Pinky admired as he followed suit, stepping away to see more of... whatever it was. He squinted, tilted his head, bent down to look at it upside down between his legs. "Umm... what is it, Brain? A spring-slinger?"

"Actually, Pinky, it's a special kind of water filter." He patted the metallic side with a small smile. "We're going to attach it to the water main outside and, once activated, it will draw all the city's water towards us to be filtered and doused with a hypnotic fluid that will make the people incredibly susceptible to suggestion. I just need to complete the hypnotic solution and commandeer the radio and television frequencies in order to 'suggest' that they appoint me their leader."

Pinky clapped his hands together, hopping up and down in a circle. "Egad, Brain! Brilliant! Oh, wait, no." He stopped his gleeful bouncing and scratched the top of his head. "What if people use Brita?"

"Hm. I'll just have to make sure the hypnotic fluid is small enough to slip past home filtrations." He waved a hand, shaking his head. "Go and play, Pinky."

"Oh, good! I can still make it to the end of the tea party!" He wiped his brow, as if that had been particularly worrisome, then called out for the female mice. "Cici! Sister dear! _Zort!_ Wait for me!" With that, Pinky ran off in the direction they had gone, waving his arms about as he went.

Shaking his head, Brain calculated that he wouldn't have to make Pinky start digging for another hour or so, set a mental alarm, and walked away to put the formula he'd already designed to use.

* * *

So much denial xD Brain, you have no idea of how long or deep that the river you're swimming in is.

But Brie's back! Hoorah! And phase one of Pinky and Cici's plan is complete. Poor Pinky lol, the only one who considers him an adult is Cici. But I mean... he could give her permission to do anything, really so perhaps it's for the best that they must go through Brain first.


	4. Chapter 4

It was no masterpiece, the splatter of paint, but it was beautiful in Pinky's eyes nonetheless. Though that didn't take much. Still, in this case it was exceptionally beautiful because the painting before him had three artists. Himself, Brie, and Cici. Seeing them pull out the crayons inspired him to paint, so he'd gone and gathered the materials necessary and invited his daughter and Brain's sister to join him. He'd let the youngest mouse have most of the control over the painting, content to just add happy clouds, happy sun, and happy sky because that made a happy Pinky!

Their fur was coated in varying shades of color, but Pinky paid it no mind as he drew in Cici for a hug and danced her around. The pair giggled as he lost balance and fell over, he sprawled on his back with the little one perched on his blue and yellow stomach.

"You're a painting too!" He laughed, wiping a dab of purple paint off Cici's nose and drawing a little heart on her cheek. "A work of art, I must say! Don't you think, sister dear?" He poked her sides, eliciting more giggles until Cici rolled off him to dart behind Brie.

Brie had a child-sized handprint right between her eyes, the rest of her fur a veritable kaleidoscope of colors that would take ages to get out of her fur. It was delightful. "We're all works of art, kitsel. Incredibly messy and in need of a good scrub, but works of art nonetheless." Brie reached out and gave Cici a matching handprint of blue before sweeping her up and depositing her right back onto Pinky's belly. She should've known an hour with them would be more enjoyable and lift her spirits more than a day of organizing.

Gasping with barely concealed joy, Pinky looked at the girl mouse with great excitement. "You hear that, Cici? A good scrub! That means bath time!" He sing-songed, reaching out to tickle her again.

Her eyes went wide, and she slid off. "Not yet! We're not finished!" she protested, but as she looked at the canvas, there really wasn't anything else they could do. Not a speck of white remained. She twisted her lips in a pout, attention caught by Pinky as he rolled over onto his stomach, preparing to run on all fours. She honestly didn't mind baths, but it was fun to pretend she didn't want to and have Pinky chase her around and try to get her in the sink. He was fast, but she was small so it made for an interesting game. Cici shot a feigned horrified look at her aunt, as if a bath were the most dreadful thing ever.

Brie giggled, but made no move to get in any position to join the chase or help her flee. She may have been faster than Brain, but she was no match for Pinky or even Cici when she got going. Although... "If you're gonna go, go while I got him." With a wink and a grin, she pounced on Pinky.

"Oof!" Pinky had been surprised by this, but was soon laughing and tried to squirm away. "Oh, fun-fun silly-willy!" he chirped, "You're teaming up! Poit. Oh, wait, that's not fair!" Though he was still very much amused by it all.

Cici wasted no time, hopping down on all fours and dashing away before Pinky managed to buck Brie off and take up pursuit. They darted about the counter, going around the cage and over by the TV before Cici realized she was heading right towards Brain's water filter. She skid to a stop and tried to change directions, but Pinky bumped into her, sending both mice tumbling into the metal side. They didn't hurt it, but it had made a decently loud metal clang. And got a smudge of paint on the side.

"Oops." Cici's ears wilted as she rubbed her head, but she was comforted by Pinky's laugh and tight squeeze.

"Caught you! Now you must have a bath!"

"You _both_ need a bath! What in the world are you up to?" The Brain glared at his sister when she stepped into view since she was just as paint-splattered as the other two. Setting aside the beaker full of an oddly glowing blue liquid, the megalomaniac marched to the filter to check it over for any damage. "How many times have I told all of you not to play near my equipment?!"

"Umm... twelve?" Pinky guessed, setting Cici off to the side and fixing her paint covered bow.

The little mouse looked from the filter to Brain. "We weren't at first, it just sort of happened." She clasped her hands behind her back, tilting her head down. "It was an accident."

"You shouldn't be running around the counter when I'm _working_," he reprimanded. "Go take a bath right now, all three of you! And don't waste time." That was directed mainly at Pinky, his scowl firmly in place. "Thanks to your need for one, we're going to fall behind schedule!"

"Oh, well, that really isn't a problem though, is it. We're always behind schedule!" Pinky pointed out, not ruffled at all by Brain's scowly-scowl. He stood up and brushed himself off, though it did nothing since the paint was everywhere and even starting to dry. There was a tug on his hand, so he looked down and curled his fingers around Cici's. She looked up at him as if to say that probably wasn't the best thing to inform Brain of. Being behind schedule was probably why a lot of his plans failed.

"Pinky, the only reason I don't hurt you now is to avoid contamination." He pointed towards the smaller sinks they typically used. "Go. If you're not out in ten minutes, I'm going to come and drag you out." He flicked his gaze to his sister, surprised to see her standing quietly, wringing her hands. She usually had some sort of snap of her own when she yelled at either of them. His ears wanted to wilt, so he spun away and picked up the blue liquid again. It needed to be shaken until it was purple, which was part of his frustration. He'd already suffered two mistakes with the formula; everything else had needed to go perfectly.

"'Kay! Come on, Cici. Sister dear. Time for a bath!" Pinky offered the little mouse his tail, since it was easier to hold onto than his hand while walking given that she was so short. "With bubbles and ducks and sponges and bananas and tupperware..." He went on, but Cici tuned him out as she glanced over her shoulder at Brain while they walked away. He yelled a lot, that wasn't new, but she was trying to show that she was big enough to help and today certainly put her a step backwards.

About to face forward again, Cici glanced over at Brie. She'd noticed her quiet behavior too. Clearly she was still a little upset. As they arrived at the little sink, the phone started to ring. Pinky and Cici both perked up and looked at it, then at each other, then the phone again. "Do you think it's them?" She asked excitedly, tugging on Pinky's tail.

"I don't usually think, but it might be!" He responded just as chipper, the bath forgotten. There really was no distinguishing parent from child.

"Well, one of you needs to answer it before Brainiac does," Brie muttered and went passed them to run the water for their bath.

Pulling Cici onto his shoulder, Pinky hurried over to the phone. It was already on its third ring. He slid right into it, taking only a few seconds to recover, then picked up the little mouse-sized receiver Brain had hooked up to it. "_Narf! _ Hello!" Cici leaned in to listen in on the conversation and Pinky moved the receiver so it would be easier for her to hear. "Oh, hi, Desiree! I am wonderful, thank you. You got the letter? Oh, super! So you'll be coming for the big ol' family reunion then? _Zort!_ In two days? Brilliant! Oh, just one question? How many days is that?" Cici rolled her eyes, counting was not his strong suit. "Two, yes... does that come after six?" She tugged on his ear and motioned for him to get on with it. "Right, well, I'll just ask Brain. Looking forward to see you and Mr. Brain's dad! Bye!" Hanging up, both mice squealed in delight and Pinky lifted Cici up and spun her around. "They're coming in six days!"

Too thrilled that the plan had actually worked, Cici didn't even bother correcting her mommy-daddy. "Hoorah! Poit!" She laughed, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. "We actually did it!"

Brie had no idea what they were spinning about this time, but she didn't want to ask and interrupt them. Cici really had no idea how lucky she was. Brain may have yelled a lot, but even she knew he cared or she wouldn't be around and Pinky... No one cared about anything as much as Pinky. Sighing, the girl jumped into the sink with a splash and put the comparisons and the jealousy out of her mind.

"Auntie Brie!" Cici called out as Pinky set her down by the edge of the sink. She made to bound in after her, but was caught around the middle before she hit the water. Glancing back at Pinky, she sighed as she waited for him to pull the doll-sized floaty wings over her arms and then let her jump in. "Auntie Brie! Guess what!" There was a splash behind her as Pinky hopped in.

"Did we win a free cruise?" she replied, forcing a smile as she rubbed paint from her arms.

"No, even better!" She giggled, though a cruise would've been fun. "Your parents are coming to visit!"

"They're..." Her ears dropped, eyes going wide. "My parents?"

Pinky hummed as he nodded, proceeding to wash the littlest mouse first. "They're coming in six days! Troz."

"He means two days." Cici chimed in.

"I do?" Pinky blinked. "Since when does six equal two?"

She ignored him, a trick she'd picked up from her megalomaniac of a father. Sometimes it was just easier to not explain. "That's the surprise! Pinky and I planned a family reunion! We sent letters all by ourselves to your mommy and daddy, and Pinky's too! Though they haven't called yet. But that's okay, because yours and Brain's are coming so we can still have a reunion."

Brie stared at the two of them for several seconds, mind processing this. Her parents. Her parents were coming. She hadn't seen them in months and they'd _abandoned_ her and now they were coming to visit. "That's... Oh. One second, you guys. Just give me one second." She scrambled out of the sink, bubbles clinging to her fur, and didn't even bother shaking herself out before running to her brother.

The sound of the beaker shattering when it hit the counter after slipping from Brain's fingers easily carried to the other two mice.

Cici and Pinky looked at each other, startled. Neither had expected that reaction. Or that sound. The little mouse's ears wilted and her heart sank. That wasn't cheering up. And now something of Brain's had broken. This must be what he felt like when none of his plans went right. Except he never cried. Not around her anyway. "I thought she'd be happy..." Her lower lip quivered and Pinky pulled her in for a hug, not quite sure why she was upset, but any upset was bad and deserved cuddles.

He helped her out of the sink and made to carry her over to see what had happened, both still wet and dripping too. "She's probably just telling Brain the good news!" Pinky attempted to reassure her, though even he had to agree that she had not left very happy. The pair of mice peered around a stack of books to watch Brie and Brain.

Brain was scowling, as irritated by the loss of his formula as he was by the news itself. And his _beaker_! It was virtually impossible to find ones this small. "They're _visiting_," Brie reiterated, as if Brain hadn't heard her properly. "In two days!"

"Yes, yes, I heard you. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to put this together? It's a very sensitive solution," he grumbled, mind working rapidly. Two days. That was more than enough time to call them back and cancel... But he didn't know their phone number and the lab had yet to invest in caller ID.

"Well, so sorry that _you_ dropped it!" she snapped, folding her arms and glaring. It wasn't very effective since she was covered in bubbles and paint, so her brother simply rolled his eyes and waved her away.

"You have two days to come up with something to say to them. Perhaps there's an explanation for what they did."

"An explanation... An explanation?! You shmuk! You're such a jerk sometimes, you know that? _You_ ask for an explanation! I'm not gonna be here!"

Brain gave her a cool stare. "You do realize Pinky and Cici set this up specifically for you."

"Well..." She smacked a hand to her brow. Drat. She couldn't let them down. "Fine. Fine, fine, fine. I'll see them. Finding out... finding out why isn't such a bad thing. I guess. Fine. It was sweet of them to think about it."

"With any luck, they'll focus on their grandchildren and not on either of us." It was distasteful because she was wet, but she was also distressed so he reached out and gave her shoulder a pat. "Go tell Pinky I won't need him to hurry, after all." His scowl was renewed. "Another night ruined."

"Oh, cheer up, Brain! There's always tomorrow night!" Pinky exclaimed, coming out from their hiding place, cradling Cici, who looked decidedly less happy than her caretaker.

Neither of them wanted to see their parents. Why? She knew if she had to go a long time without seeing Pinky or Brain that she'd be super excited to see them. Well, Brain didn't get super excited about much, but she expected at least Brie to. Turning in Pinky's arms, she buried her face in his chest. And she'd ruined Brain's plan by making Brie upset. At least Pinky was still happy, she'd have to mess up really bad to get him sad too. Real sad, that is. His mood swings when it came to celebrity gossip and television didn't count.

Brie scrubbed her hands over her face before she went over to them and slid Cici out of Pinky's grasp. Well, it was more of a tug but she got what she wanted. "Don't be upset, bubbee."

"But _you're_ upset!" She pouted, crossing her arms. "I thought you'd want to see your mommy and daddy!"

"I know you and Pinky just wanted to make me happy. It's just that I haven't seen them in a really, really long time. That can be kinda scary, bubbee. That's all." It was terrifying. What was she going to say to them?

She blinked at her aunt, still somewhat disbelieving. Wasn't it scarier to never see your parents again? While it was fleeting, she could vaguely remember that feeling, though why she couldn't be certain. Neither of her parents would leave her outside by herself when they wouldn't even leave her in the lab alone. "I'm sorry, Auntie Brie, I didn't think you'd be scared. We should've asked first." And wasn't that the rule anyway when it came to concocting ideas with Pinky? Oh well, surprises probably fell under a different category. Maybe.

"Oh, don't be sorry. I get it, babe. You just wanted me to be happy." She rubbed their noses together gently. "You're the best niece in the whole world. And this way you get to meet your grandparents and, trust me, they really want grandkids."

She perked up at that, embracing Brie and happy that maybe she wasn't so sad after all. But it was interrupted as Pinky jumped in. "What about me? Am I a good niece too?" The taller mouse asked. Cici giggled and stepped aside to let him have his turn.

Brie laughed, throwing her arms around Pinky. "Sadly, you can't be a a niece, kitsel. But you're almost the same as being another brother. You're _really_ good at being that."

"_Narf!_ Alright, then!" He agreed readily, squeezing her back. "This will be a fun-fun silly-willy reunion, I just know it!"

She wasn't so sure, so hung on a moment longer before stepping back. "Yeah. It'll be great." She glanced back at her brother, felt a flicker of amusement at the clear jealousy in his glare, and went back to Cici, sweeping her up. "C'mon. We're dripping paint and soap all over the place! Bathtime, kid."

"'Kay!" Even though she'd been speaking to the little girl, Pinky chimed in along with his daughter. Which was all well and good, he too was dripping paint and soap. The taller mouse looked back at his cagemate. "Do you want to come too, Brain? We can have a bath party!"

"We are not having a bath party, particularly since I'm not messy in the slightest and you are all covered in paint." He folded his arms, annoyed at how sharp jealousy had pricked him when he'd seen his sister hug his best friend and, worse, get a squeeze in return. "It would be unsanitary."

"Poit." Pinky clasped his arms behind his back. "Alright, suit yourself. Let's go, sister dear!" He proceeded to drag her and his daughter by default over to the sink.

Scowling, Brain glared down at his spilled solution and the broken beaker. This was why he never did plans at the lab anymore. Sighing, he rubbed his brow with both hands to work out the headache that had flared. His parents were going to show up. In two days. "We're going to have to clean the cage," he muttered to no one and got to work cleaning the remains of the plan.

And ended up landing in the bathwater ten minutes later when a spring from his filter sprung.

* * *

StarShineDC: loooooooool  
Oh, Brain XDDDDDDD  
Your life sucks~  
Except you have PINKY and CICI and SISTER DEAR XD

And now Brie and Brain know their parents are coming to visit! *gasp*  
Poor Cici D:  
She just wanted to cheer her auntie up  
But you can't expect much from a 4 month old mousey-mouse  
Or, well, from Pinky XD


	5. Chapter 5

This time Cici had permission to use the phone. "Hi, big brother!" She said into the receiver, Pinky and Brie supervising the call. Well, Brie supervising the call. Pinky just wanted to tell Romy "hi". For a proper family reunion, everyone was supposed to be there and that included her brother. "Pinky says hi too."

"Hiiiii!" The taller mouse waved as well, completely unaware that his son could not see him.

Brie giggled and Romy, on his end, sighed. Aw, man. What now? "Hey, kid. Hi to ma and Aunt Brie too."

Cici grinned, and relayed the message to the two adults. "Guess what, we're having a family reunion tomorrow. Daddy and Auntie Brie's parents are coming and so are M-mommy's." They'd just gotten a random postcard in the mail with various pawprints and smudges on it, but Pinky said they definitely RSVPed and would be there tomorrow. "You and Bunny should come!"

There was no way he was bringing Bunny to the lab to meet more of his family. Anybody who could create mice like his two dads couldn't be normal. "Bunny's got work," he lied, yawning. But he didn't want to let the kid down. His sister was harmless. Plus, watching his dad have to deal with that many extra folks in his lab and not be taking over the world? That had the potential to be funny. "But I guess I'll be there. What time?"

"Closing time. Um, five-thirty." She was supposed to start using the actual time, to try and break from 'Pinky's influence' since he couldn't tell time to save his life. "Thanks, Romy!"

"Narf," was his you're welcome. "See you tomorrow."

"Troz!" She giggled back. "Bye!"

As she hung up the phone, Pinky started dancing in a circle. "Hooray! Romy's visiting! It's been so long!"

"We saw him two nights ago." Cici reminded him, straightening her bow out of habit rather than necessity.

"I know. Poit. But that was at his house! Now he's coming here." Clearly there was a huge difference.

Brie grinned. She was more enthusiastic about this reunion with Pinky's family coming. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever really seen him at the lab."

Cici didn't know much about the whole thing, but she figured it had something to do with his wanting to be a ventriloquist and not 'meeting his potential'. She liked when he used his puppets, he was very good at it, but compared to supreme ruler of the world, she could see how it didn't measure up to Brain's standards. They didn't fight about it much anymore, at least not around her, which she was glad for. She loved them both and didn't want to have to pick a side. Besides, she would gladly help Brain take over the world and carry on the legacy. Whatever that meant.

"Oh, I'll bring out all the baby pictures!" Pinky decided, clapping his hands together.

Cici blinked up at him. "We have baby pictures?"

"What? Oh, no, I guess we don't."

"Pinky, he wasn't a baby long enough to take pictures." Though The Brain had taken some, strictly for his log of course... even though they were all tucked away in his sardine tin. "Are the three of you finished now? We have quite a bit to do before tomorrow night."

"Why, Brain? What're we doing tomorrow night?" Pinky scooped up Cici and deposited her on his shoulders.

Brie gave him a fondly bewildered look while Brain scowled and clasped his hands behind his back. "Something we thankfully don't do every night, Pinky - hosting a family reunion. Now come."

He gasped. "A family reunion! _Narf! _ Super!" To which Cici giggled at as he followed after Brain. "I'll get out the good china and tablecloths!"

"We don't have a table," Brain pointed out and shook his head, going into their cage.

"No matter how clean you get it, they're still gonna find something wrong," Brie grumbled and was glared at.

Pinky set Cici down on Brain's head. It was big enough after all. "I keep a very clean cage, sister dear, I'll have it tidy and shiny before you can say 'poit'!" He told her as he tied an apron around his waist. "Now where's my dust rag...?"

Frowning, Brain plucked the girl off the top of his head, having to bow it some in order to reach her. "It's in your toy box."

"It's cute that you know where his stuff is," Brie teased, making a funny face for Cici's benefit.

Brain's eyes rolled and he was distracted enough to keep a hold of his adopted daughter rather than setting her down. "Someone has to keep track of things and he doesn't quite have the required skillset."

"But that's okay, because I have you, Brain!" Pinky smiled over at him from his toy box, rifling through it. "_Zort! _ Here it is! And my ketchup!" It was a kerchief really that he tied around his head.

Cici scrunched up her nose at the sight of it. He usually wore it when their creepy neighbor came to the window. She was convinced he was trying to date him, but needed to do some more investigating first before she could prove her hypothesis, but still. Pinky very clearly belonged to Brain. "Why do you wear that?"

"To keep the pixies out of my ears, of course! They don't like to be disturbed." He replied matter-of-fact-like.

"He's merely unused to anything between his ears being disturbed," Brain muttered. Louder, "Kerchief, Pinky. Ketchup is a condiment."

"Who said it wasn't?" Pinky asked while he started dusting the water bottle. "Where will our families be staying, Brain? I don't think our cage will fit everyone."

"Staying?!" the siblings said in horrified unison.

"Well, of course, Brain. And sister dear. Pittsburgh's an awfully long way away." Pinky pointed out.

"Florida, da-mommy." Cici corrected. "They're from Florida."

Brain set her down, patting the top of her head. "Pinky, families don't generally stay overnight for a family reunion. They can stay a little while tomorrow evening and then they'll return to their own home." Not that he knew what happened at normal family reunions, but his parents were certainly not staying any longer than necessary. And they certainly weren't staying in their cage.

"Oh, right, Brain!" Pinky nodded in understanding. "Phew, that's a relief because I didn't wash the extra sheets." He moved on to dust the bars of the cage next.

Cici took the pat to the head as a good sign and leaned into him. "Can I help too, Brain? What should I do?" If she asked Pinky, she'd probably be told to lick the mop or something else of a ridiculous nature.

"Pick up your toys and such." He resisted the urge to give her another pat, replacing that urge with a small nudge to her back. "Your aunt will help you. I need to organize other things." Possibly weld his sardine tin shut to keep his father from looking through it or Pinky's parents believing it actually held sardines. Ugh. Maybe he'd just hide it in the basement.

Ugh. Toys were boring. She had to do that on a regular basis anyway. But she had asked, so she'd do it. Of course, she was intrigued by whatever her dad needed to organize. "Like your special secret box?" Cici grinned, picking up her teddy bear pencil topper from where he sat on the wheel. He needed his exercise, while they were playing earlier the doctor said he had a heart condition and was getting chubby like Brain's lumpy ol' head. The doctor had been Pinky, so she shouldn't have expected anything less.

"Impertinent brat," he muttered.

"Shmuck," Brie muttered in turn and Brain was surprised out a snap because she was smiling at him. She smiled fairly often, but never at him. But then she averted her gaze and scowled instead, quickly heading over to Cici to help her get the yarn off the top of the wheel. Why it was there was beyond her, but she could imagine her father's reaction to it and it wouldn't be a good one.

Cici stuck her tongue out at Brain when he was looking at Brie, then scampered over to her bed when she almost got caught. She had good hearing, and she knew what he'd said. Well, she didn't know what 'impertinent' meant, but she was familiar with 'brat'. She set her teddy bear on her bed, having long since grown out of the walnut shell, it had been replaced by an earring box that the top had been screwed off of. Giving him an affectionate pat on the head, she left him there and went about gathering the rest of the patients from the doctor game as well as her crayons. Her pink eyes fell upon one toy that wasn't exactly hers. "Where should I put boa?" She held up the bright blue feathered thing, bandaged from a tragic ice cream cone incident, and looked over at Pinky.

"Oh, ummm, on my bed for now, Cici. I'll put it away later." He replied, quite focused on a particular smudge of dirt that would not go away.

Brain looked over, cheeks tinting a light red. He wasn't sure why the feathered monstrosity caused that particular reaction, particularly when Pinky was dancing around in it, but it was an automatic reaction and it irritated that he couldn't stop it. Shaking his head, he looked away from it and retrieved his back-up plans from within their bed, lest Pinky's "helpful" father find them and attempt to improve upon them. Most of his things, he'd realized, would have to go down into the basement.

As would Pinky's dress-up things. He didn't want to explain why his cagemate laid claim to so many dresses. Hm. At this rate, their cage was going to be rather empty but for children's toys.

It didn't take long for her to pick up her toys with Brie's help. As Cici crammed the last of them in the toy box she shared with Pinky, since they played with much of the same things, she looked about the cage and was surprised at the progress Pinky had made. He certainly had his moments. Covering her mouth to hide a yawn, she turned her attention to her other dad. He was going to have to make a lot of trips to the basement from what she could see.

Brie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, grinning. It was a little forced because she was wary of Brain going into the basement. There was no way he wouldn't notice that it had been organized. "Tired, bubeleh?"

"Mm-mm." She shook her head stubbornly, straightening her shoulders and offered her aunt a smile before turning to Brain. "Auntie Brie and I can take your thingies downstairs, daddy." If she had something to do, she wouldn't be tired. That was her logic.

Brain looked up, scowling and doing his best to ignore the way his heart fluttered. "You know I don't like you going into the basement, Cici."

"I'll take care of her, though. It'll be fine."

The little girl nodded. "And I won't touch anything. Promise!"

Brain looked from them to the pile he'd accumulated, considering it only because he didn't enjoy the trek up and down the stairs. "No, Cici, you stay up here with me. Brie can take Pinky along."

Brie's tail gave a pleased twitch. Pinky was less likely to notice than Brain was. "That works."

"Joy. Pinky! Come here."

"Yes, Brain?" Pinky twirled over, spinning a feather duster he'd somehow found. He looked over at the pile. "Are we having a garage sale? Poit."

"No, you're going to assist Brie in taking all of this down to the basement." Brain took the duster from him, considered handing it to Cici when he noticed her covering a yawn. He kept a hold of the duster, feeling twin surges of affection and annoyance. It was an odd combination Pinky and Cici both managed to inspire in him with regularity. "Try and be quick about it."

"'Kay!" Pinky plucked up a stack of plans and dresses. "Come on, sister dear. Time for a field trip!"

Cici rubbed an eye as she watched them go. Oh, she'd been staying up so late recently, what with Brie being the most awesome babysitter ever and Romy not really enforcing bedtime. Plus the previous night she managed to get three stories out of Pinky before finally going to bed. It was catching up with her.

Brie gathered up another armful of dresses, scampering after Pinky with a giggle. He had more outfits than anyone she'd ever met and, more importantly, he liked to wear them all.

With them gone, Brain set aside the duster and picked up the girl. "Come, Cici," he ordered, more out of habit than necessity since he was holding her. "It's time for bed."

"But I'm not sleepy yet." She protested, but laid her head on his shoulder anyway. Though she did like being carried by him, and it wasn't often that Brain put her to bed. Usually it was Pinky's job if they were around when she fell asleep.

"Your current behavioral abnormalities suggest otherwise." She was going to be too big for him to carry soon. The thought gave him a pang that he ignored. Of course she would be. It was the nature of growing up, a perfectly natural and expected piece of the lifecycle. "You'll need to be well-rested for tomorrow night. Pinky's parents take up quite a bit of energy."

"Are they fun-fun silly-willy like him too?" Cici managed a tired smile, surely the families of both her parents were quite the characters to have produced them.

"They created Pinky," was all the reply he felt the question required. He wrapped an arm securely around her back, drawing the blanket of her bed down with the other before laying her on her back. He was frowning while he tucked her in, as if the task was a vaguely unpleasant chore, but he took longer than necessary to complete the task.

Snuggling down in the blankets, she smiled at his frown. "Thank you, daddy." She yawned once more and rolled onto her side, facing him.

"You're welcome." He checked quickly, making sure that his sidekick and his sister hadn't yet returned. Deeming it safe, he ducked his head and gently touched their noses together. "Goodnight."

"'Night." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Tell mommy I say goodnight too." Pinky did hate when he missed saying goodnight.

"I will." She would have to say good morning twice to make up for it. With a pat to her head, he rose lest he get caught being overly affectionate and have to suffer through his sister's cooing. If he wanted to be cooed at, he'd find a pigeon.

Down in the basement, Pinky set Brain plans in one of the unused drawers. "It's so nice of you to offer to keep Brain's plan thingies down here, sister dear," he acknowledged, gently laying out his dresses beside them. Oh, he didn't want them to get wrinkled.

"What are you talking about, Pinky? It's your guys' basement." Technically, it belonged to the scientists, but it wasn't as though they used it. She offered the outfits she had so he could lay them how he wanted them.

Taking the clothes from her, he hummed thoughtfully. "Oh, I guess you're right. Poit." Then it was awfully nice of him and Brain to let her stay there and keep their things safe. Pinky smoothed out the fabric before deeming the outfits suitable for storing. "There we are, all nice and happy!" About to close the drawer, he noticed one vital mistake. "Egad! I forgot boa!" Indeed, boa was still where Cici left it atop the bed.

"That's okay, kitsel. We'll get it on the next trip." She gave him a pat before leaping to the floor. "We still didn't grab his tin."

"Ooooh, Brain's secret place!" Pinky sing-songed as he followed her down. "With all his secret-secrets inside. _Narf._"

"Haven't you ever wondered what's in there?" she wondered, clasping her hands behind her back in unconscious mimicry of her older brother as he walked.

Pinky nodded. "Oh, yes. All the time! Poit. When I can remember to wonder, that is." He consciously mimicked her stance, which made him giggle a little simply because he did this with Brain too. They were such good siblings, just like him and Sis! You could hardly tell them apart with all their alike mannerisms.

She looked over at the giggle, smiling. He was so cute. No wonder Brain was so possessive of him. "Well, remembering's difficult." They started up the stairs, which went considerably faster without Cici around.

"Oh, yes. Very difficult. And hard." He practically bounced all the way to the top. "But when I do remember to wonder I also remember that I don't need to know what's in the box. I already know everything about Brain, just like he knows everything about me! Even my special stamp collection."

"Kitsel, everyone knows about your special stamp collection." He had several envelopes covered in stamps that he liked to show off at, well, random.

"But he knew to get me a dinosaur one! I didn't even _know_ I wanted a dinosaur one! He knows me better than me," he explained, the smile lighting up his face.

Brie nodded, giving him a sidelong look. "When you've been someone's boyfriend for a long time, that tends to happen."

"Boyfriend?" Pinky clasped his hands together under his chin and his eyes grew wide. "Boyfriend! Egad! Did Brain tell you we're boyfriends? Oh, goody! _Troz!_ I was hoping he'd realize it soon!" Grabbing onto Brie's arms, he started to spin about with her as he laughed.

"Wait, wait!" But Brie laughed, letting herself be spun. "No, Pinky, he didn't tell me. I just sorta worked it out."

Slowing to a stop, though still gripping her arms, Pinky tilted his head. "So he didn't say anything? Nothing about love things?"

Curious, her ears perked and her tail gave a twitch. "No, he didn't. Why?"

"Oh, poit... Well, he hasn't told me yet either." He sighed, lowering their arms. "We're mummy and daddy after all, so we should be boyfriends too."

"I _knew_ he was in the closet!" With a triumphant gleam, she pointed skyward at the exclamation. But then she scowled and placed her hands on her hips. "That shmuk."

Pinky simply stared at her. "No, sister dear, he's in the cage. With Cici."

Sometimes, his misunderstandings were annoying. But she squelched that because Brain did enough being annoyed for everyone and gave him a pat. "Right. He's still a shmuk, kitsel. It's very obvious that you two are boyfriends and someone as smart as him should've realized this by now."

"Shmuk!" He giggled, such a funny word. "You really think so? I was gonna tell him soon, on our anniversary."

"Well, how far away is that? 'Cause if he hasn't noticed by now, he really needs to be informed."

"Ummm..." Pinky tapped his chin. "You know, I don't remember. I'll have to look at the calendar! I circled it!"

"Well, we'll just have to look and see." She wasn't going to miss that announcement for anything. Giggling, she looped an arm around his waist since she'd have to drag him down to reach his shoulders. "And then I'll help you plan a special way to let him know. Okay?"

Pinky beamed and leaned into her, delighted, as they entered the lab. He placed one hand on her shoulder as he gestured wildly with the other. "Oh, thank you, sister dear! _Narf!_ That would be glorious!"

When they reached the cage they were still like that and Brain had to bite back a jealousy-fueled snap. It didn't make any sort of sense for him to be feeling this way. "Will the two of you quiet down? I just put Cici to bed."

"Oh, sorry, Brain." Pinky lowered his voice to a whisper, then gasped as he realized: "I didn't get to say goodnight!"

"She said goodnight to you, Pinky. You were just too far away to hear it," Brain placated and pushed the feather duster he'd been using into his counterpart's hand. "Here. Finish cleaning quietly. We need to get some sleep ourselves."

"In the bed you share?" Brie teased, lashes fluttering.

Cheeks coloring, Brain scowled at her. "I detest your implication." He stormed over to the tin and lifted an end. "Before you're dismissed for the evening, assist me."

"Um..." She flicked her gaze to Pinky and back to Brain. "Seriously?"

"I don't trust you not to convince Pinky to allow you to peer inside and I have had more than enough of dealing with dust." And she and Pinky had taken entirely too long. He didn't want the pair of them going off alone together.

"Well... Alright." If he kicked her out, she could probably just sneak back in. Her head didn't get stuck under doors, luckily.

Pinky pouted nonetheless. "I know it's your secret box of secret-secrets, Brain. I wouldn't let anyone look!" He clapped his hand over his mouth as his voice rose, then glanced over at Cici's bed, lowering his voice again. "_Naaaaaarf._"

"Hm. Still, I would prefer if you would finish up here. You're an excellent housekeeper, after all." Brie rolled her eyes at the monotoned nicetie. It'd be nice if her bro could give a compliment sincerely and not because he wanted something.

It did the trick however. Pinky preened and saluted with the feather duster. "Aye, aye, Brain!" He exclaimed in the quietest voice possible. But before he spun away to do some more dusting, he tip-toed to Cici's bedside and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, baby snow mouse." It was still important he say it, she might have bad dreams if he didn't. Or think he forgot, which would be just terrible!

The siblings watched, one with a bright smile, the other with a frown that threatened to become a smile if he wasn't careful. "Quickly, Brie. I would prefer not to hold onto this any longer than necessary."

"Well, why not? It's your junk." Annoyed with him and his treatment of Pinky, she hefted the other side and started to help him carry it. The sooner they were done, the sooner she could get out of there. Or at least get away from him.

"It isn't junk," Brain defended and got an amused smile.

"What is it then?"

He glared. "None of your business."

"Shmuk."

"Shnorrer."

"I am not!"

His eyes rolled as they started down the set of drawers. "I won't argue with a pest who's half my age."

"Old man," she grumbled and, in unison, they both slipped and ended up bouncing down the drawers. They each landed on the floor and had just enough time to glare at one another before getting squashed by the tin. "Oi..."

"Ow..."

When they managed to get it off and were popped back to their normal shape, they went back to glaring at one another. "Hide it in a drawer?" she suggested.

"For once, Brie, you've made a helpful suggestion." She muttered something under her breath at that he didn't ask her to repeat, deciding settling for another glare was response enough while they pulled open a drawer and tucked the tin beneath a stack of yellowing papers.

"Used much?"

He shook his head. "Humans. Now I appreciate your assistance, Brie. You're expected to return here at a decent time tomorrow."

"Yeah." With that reminder, her irritation fled and was replaced with worry. She looked down at her hands, wringing them together, and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "I... I really don't want to see them..."

"Neither do I, but it won't be a long visit." She didn't see, her head still bowed, but he reached out a hand to offer some form of comfort, hesitated, and dropped it again. "And then things will return to normal, and they will return to Florida."

"All the way on the other side of the continent," she murmured and nodded. "Alright. I'll, uh, see you all tomorrow."

She fled and Brain climbed back up to the counter, making his way to the cage. It needed to be locked before the scientists' arrival in the morning and he was suddenly very tired. It was so very irritating to care for those who only annoyed. First Pinky, then Cici, and now Brie had somehow joined the ranks. And she was the worst of them because her annoyance was on purpose. He swung the cage door shut, winced at the way it creaked. He'd forgotten to get more three and one oil, which was certainly going to cause a problem with his father.

But he dismissed it for the moment and strolled over to Pinky, hands behind his back. "Pinky, are you nearly finished?"

Pinky had finished with the dusting while they'd been downstairs, and had just finished sweeping the cage floor. During Brain's absence, he also put boa under the bed, since he'd forgotten to put it on Brain's special box. He leaned the broom against the bars of the cage and nodded. "All done, Brain. Nice and clean. Poit." He untied the kerchief and the apron folding them up to place back in the toy box.

"Don't put them in there, Pinky. Put them under the bed. When your parents inevitably open up the toy box tomorrow, I don't want them finding clothing."

"Right, Brain." Pinky slipped back over to the bed without question and stuffed the clothes under with the boa. He leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. "Time for beddy-by now?"

"Yes, old friend, it is indeed time for bed." Brain went over to his usual side and slid beneath the covers. He was looking forward to the following day as much as Brie was, but between Pinky and his family, their clone and their daughter, he was relatively positive that he wouldn't have to deal with his own parents overmuch.

Pinky dove under the blankets at the foot of the bed, worming his way up until his head rested on the pillow. He rolled over to face Brain, cushioning his cheek with his arms. A bright smile adorned his face; he was very excited for the next day of course. It had been so long since he'd seen his parents and Sis. And he couldn't wait to show off their smarty children, he was so proud of them. Maybe Romy would do one of his acts for them, with the puppets, and Cici could show them how good she was at the alphabet and counting. He wiggled happily, scooting closer to his cagemate and fellow parent. "Goodnight, Brain."

"One last thing, Pinky." Brain kept his gaze trained on the ceiling of the cage, folding his hands over his belly. "Share some of your ingenuous optimism concerning tomorrow."

"Hmmm?" Pinky blinked at him, watching Brain watch the ceiling. "Zort. How do you mean, Brain?"

He sighed. "Tell me that the family reunion is going to go well."

"Oh, right. Well, of course it'll go well, Brain. Our parents will love Romy and Cici. And I'm sure our sistahs will get along. Our dads can talk dad things and our mums can talk mum things, and they'll have so many stories to tell our kids that I'm sure they'll love! And Romy can do his ven... vi... puppet show, and Cici can do some of the smarty things you taught her." Pinky's eyes slipped closed, though he still wore the smile on his lips. "And we can all be a big, happy family. Which will be nice for sister dear since she lives alone and not with your parents. And Romy since he doesn't live with us either. And Cici because if she didn't live with us she'd still be under a bench waiting for her other family."

With a yawn, Pinky wrapped his arms around Brain and snuggled in. Murmuring some other nonsense under his breath as he started drifting off.

Brain didn't push him away, but waited until Pinky's murmurs had trailed off and his breaths had gone even and deep before he turned his head and nuzzled gently. "Thank you, Pinky," he whispered and let his eyes close. "Goodnight."

* * *

You can always count on Pinky's eternal optimism for comfort, Brain. Even while you're being all jealous and adorable. Brie is right, he's very much in the closet. It also makes me wonder what Pinky thinks anniversaries are for... hmm...

And awww... daddy!Brain xD I really have to say, I adore them as parents. They're the right amount of fail and awesome lol.

GASP. The reunion's tomorrow! Egad! Will Brain and Brie survive? Probably.


	6. Chapter 6

Brie made it to their cage a little early, sneaking around the feet of the few straggling scientists because she just couldn't wait in the basement any longer. She'd been driving herself crazy, even going so far as to peek at some of Brain's plans. They'd just made her dizzy, though, so they'd quickly been rolled back up. It did leave her wondering if her brother could actually draw, though, and not just do squiggles on a blueprint for Pinky's sake.

"Hey!" she whispered loudly, ears twitching as she looked back over her shoulder. She didn't want to get caught there, had been once before and nearly deposited into a cage of her own until she'd bitten the scientist's thumb and run off. "Hey! Let me in!"

Eyes rolling, Brain strode over and used his crooked tail to undo the lock quickly and quietly, pulling her inside. "You're early."

"Your observational skills are beyond my comprehension," she monotoned, just to see how he liked it. She didn't understand when he didn't have some sort of comeback for her, only dropping her arm and striding away. Nor did she understand that Brain's monotoned compliments were things he generally meant, even if they were sparing.

He dropped down beside Cici, scowling. "Three times four."

The little mouse blinked up at him, surprised by his scowl. Usually Auntie Brie's funny teasing didn't bother him, at least not to the point of ignoring and silence. Well, maybe getting another answer right would cheer him up! "Twelve!"

Brain reached out, gave her the briefest hug he possibly could, and rose again as the lights shut off and the last of the scientists walked out. "Excellent."

Tail wagging, she puffed out her chest and pulled off an excellent impression of a delighted Pinky. Who pounced as soon as he saw they were done. "Twelve! Oh, you're so smart! I never would've guessed that!" He embraced both Brain and Cici, squishing them together. "Narf!"

Brain closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and pushing away. "Stop it, Pinky." He was clearly more on edge than usual if his sister's barbs were sticking, but she hadn't been the only one working herself into a state.

Pinky looked after Brain for a moment, then went back to snuggling Cici before letting her actually breathe. He decided to greet Brie while the child collected herself. "Hello, sister dear! Ready for the fun-fun family reunion?" Punching the air on each 'fun'.

Straightening her bow with a cough, Cici smiled up at Pinky fondly then gravitated towards Brain's side.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping..." That it would be called off, but faced with Pinky's exuberance, her ears wilted. "Yeah. Totally ready."

"Hoorah!" Pinky cheered, taking some time to make the connection between her words and her appearance. When he did, he blinked, lowering his arms to fold them behind his back. "Poit. Are you sure?"

She gave him a half smile. "Not really. Can I have a hug, Pinky?"

"You don't even have to ask!" Pinky embraced her tightly with a huge grin. "I'll hug you until you feel all ready! _Troz._"

It'd probably end up being a really long hug and she just couldn't hold her breath that long. But she wrapped her arms around him and hugged right back. "I'm alright now, kitsel," she said into his shoulder. "Thanks."

Giving her a quick squeeze before letting go, Pinky stepped back and offered her a thumbs up. "You can do it!" He felt a tug on his tail, giving him cause to turn around. Cici looked up at him, subtly motioning towards Brain. He just blinked at her. She sighed, then gave up and went to give her aunt a much gentler hug. Her parents could be so weird. They were never affectionate when she expected them to be. Of course, Pinky was the definition of unexpected.

Brie chuckled, hefting her niece and giving her a fond nuzzle. "Pinky," she whispered conspiratorially, "I don't think Brain's quite ready for the reunion either."

"Oh. Oh! _Narf!_" Comprehension dawning, Pinky spun to face his cagemate. He overshot him in his eagerness and had to make a full circle again. "Brain!" Wrapping his arms around him, he nuzzled Brain in a somewhat more intimate hug than he'd given Brie. "I'll hug you until you're ready too!"

"Pinky!" Color filled his cheeks at the unexpected nuzzle. The hug was normal enough that he would've been able to shove away, but... He really wasn't any more ready for everyone's arrival than his sister was, so let his fingers curl into Pinky's fur a moment longer than necessary. "That's enough, Pinky. Put me down now."

He debated telling Brain that now he wasn't ready, but decided against it. It would be part lying; only part because while he was ready for the family reunion, he wasn't ready to end the hug. "'Kay." Pinky lowered him to the floor, his arms taking extra long to unwind.

Brain gave him a pat before stepping back, shooting a glare at his giggling daughter and smirking sister when he noticed them watching. Gossipy females. His red face taking away much of the glare's effectiveness, he spun away to unlock the cage for the remainder of the night and frowned when he saw Roman Numeral I climbing onto the counter, ignoring the surge of pleasure at seeing him there, back at the cage he'd once so abruptly left. "It's 5:37; you're seven minutes late," he scolded and strode passed to get to the window. He needed some air.

Romy just shrugged and meandered into the cage, giving a half-salute to its occupants. "Hey."

"No, he's not. He's right on time!" Pinky leaping over him and spreading his arms wide. "Romy! Welcome home! _Narf!_ Oh, I've missed you!"

Cici giggled some more. "We saw him three days ago."

"Egad, that long already?" He asked reaching out for a hug from his wayward son.

"Yeah." With a smile, Romy accepted the hug from his mom, not minding when he couldn't breathe for a minute. "Dad seems like he's freakin' out more than usual."

Pinky nodded in agreement. "Oh, yes. He's especially grumpy-grumbly today!"

Brie caught her tail, wrung it nervously. If Brain hadn't gone off to the window, she would be. Though she wasn't sure if she wouldn't just jump out and run off if she did go near it. "Yeah."

Romy came over and rubbed her head, her laugh more grateful than humorous. "You and dad are short enough that you might get lost in the shuffle."

"Thanks so much. Your sister's shorter than we are."

"She's cuter. Narf."

Cici beamed, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking. Her brother was pretty awesome. She hugged his waist and looked up. "And I'm easy to carry! Poit."

"Right, right. Brain gets all squirmy and pushy when I try to carry him. And his head is much chubbier than yours." Pinky agreed, glancing over at his cagemate by the window. Perhaps he was looking for the feck again that he seemed to lack so often. He gave Cici a pat on the head, then strolled over to him. "Whatcha looking at, Brain?"

"The abyss," he muttered, gazing at the sky. It wasn't dark just yet, but the sun was sinking. The stars would be out soon and he should've been working on some sort of plan to enact when they arrived. Breaks in the routine were uncomfortable unless they were planned, but even having known about this alteration left him fidgety and nervous. He knew there would have to be a showdown of some kind. He wanted to know why they would've left Brie behind as much as she wanted to know, but he was so much warier of the response. His ears fell back in the uncertainty only Pinky had ever been allowed to see because he was certain that Pinky was the only one who would never judge him for it. "They'll be here soon, Pinky."

Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, he brought the smaller mouse closer to his side. "I know, and we'll all have a good time." Pinky told him in his most soothing of voices. Whenever Brain looked at the abyss, it usually meant he needed some kind of reassurance. In the form of a song and dance typically, but with their parents on the way, he didn't think he had time to go all out. Plus they'd put his hat downstairs. So settled for saying, "Just say 'narf', Brain. And it'll all work out."

"It isn't even a word," he grumbled, more out of habit than out of annoyance. He looked from the sky to his cagemate, felt the urge to lean into the embrace and accept the comfort always so readily offered. He kept himself straight, uncomfortable with the stirring warmth, uncomfortable with the growing need the mouse inspired. Traveling that road would be the biggest break of routine he'd ever faced and he wasn't ready for it. "However it goes, tomorrow night it'll be in the past and we can return to our plans."

"Why, Brain?" Pinky tilted his head, wearing a rather dopey smile. "What're we gonna do tomorrow night?"

"The same thing we do almost every night, Pinky." Brain patted the hand on his shoulder, leaving it there when he sighed and turned his gaze back to the sky. "Try to take over the world."

Unable to contain himself now, Pinky brought Brain in for another full embrace. "Hoorah! _Zort!_" He swayed from side to side, taking Brain with him, until something outside the window caught his eye. "Egad, Brain! I think they're here!"

Brain dropped his brow onto Pinky's shoulder and blew out a breath. Tomorrow night would have to wait for tomorrow night. He pushed back and away, scowl back in place. "Alright, Pinky, go ahead and show them in."

With a skip in his step, Pinky went over and unlatched the window. It was much easier to get through the window than the mail slot, not to mention that it faced the other direction. He pushed it open then made his descent in order to help guide their visitors up. "Oh, hi Mr. and Mrs. Brain's parents! _Narf!_ Won't you come in?"

Hearing the greeting, Brain leaned a little further out and swallowed. They were there first, just what he'd feared. He couldn't just push them right off to Pinky's parents. When he heard his mother - "See? I told you - tall and skinny." - he had a mild panic attack and scrambled into the cage with a wild idea about locking it and pretending they weren't home after all.

But by the time he stepped into the cage, he realized just how ridiculous that idea was, so settled for wringing his hands together anxiously. Brie's ears went flat. "They're here?"

"Just ours," he replied, so Brie picked up her niece to use her as a defense.

"Careful, Auntie. Don't mess up my bow." She had Pinky tie it extra pretty to make a good impression for her grandparents. "And shouldn't we go say hi?" Both her aunt and dad looked terribly nervous though, which made her feel anxious as well. Cici glanced over at her brother to see what he made of it. But he seemed to be almost amused, arms folded as he eyed Brain, his expression as if to say: "how bad could it be?"

"Oh, everyone must be in the cage. _Zort._ Come on then! This way!" Pinky gestured for the two mice to follow as he crossed the counter.

"That boy better have patched up some of those holes. It was rather drafty last I remember," the father commented.

Pinky had to keep in his laughter. They lived in a cage! Of course it had holes! "Here we are!"

Changing her mind, Brie set Cici down so she could run. She couldn't do this. She didn't want to do this. "It's small," her mother announced. "Do you remember it being so small?" They entered the cage, blocking the door, and Brie felt distinctly trapped. She shared a look with Brain and, for once, they were on the same page.

But Brain had dealt with them once already, so he was more prepared. "Mother, father, I can assure you it's the same size as before. There's just been an increase in current occupants."

"We have kids now!" Pinky sing-songed, throwing one arm around Romy and scooping up Cici in the other. "Oh, except Romy doesn't live with us anymore. He's all grown up."

"Kids? You have kids?" Turning to look at Brain, his father's eyes narrowed a touch. "Well, it's about time. What were you waiting for? An invitation?"

"And how is he all grown up, mister? You didn't tell us about him last time."

"Well, Roman hadn't exactly been created yet." Brain tapped his fingers together. "You see, he's a clone and-"

"Oh, a clone! Fancy, fancy."

Romy shrugged. He'd been hoping these two would be more like his aunt, but was starting to get the uncomfortable feeling that they were worse than his dad. Glarb.

"And such a smart clone, too!" Pinky chimed in, puffing out his chest with pride. "He's studying to be a ventro... ventrolo..."

"Ventriloquist," both Cici and Romy assisted, though one with a smile and the other with more of a deadpan.

"Oh, right! _Narf!_" He laughed, squeezing them both. "They're both smarties!"

The little girl mouse enjoyed the embrace, while carefully watching her grandparents. She didn't know quite what to make of them yet, they seemed quite difficult to please so far. And she hadn't liked the way they'd said the word 'clone'. He was still her brother, even if he'd been made different and grew up much faster than other mice.

"Ventriloquism, huh?" Their father rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing a bit. "Not much of a growth industry."

Feeling a very uncomfortable sense of deja vu, Brain decided that the best thing to do was to throw his sister to the wolves, as it were. "Mother, father, I'm sure you recognize Brie." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward, ignoring her glare.

"Look at you," her mother cooed, realizing immediately who she was, though her attitude seemed to change in a heartbeat. "You're so short." She looked at her husband. "I told you she'd be short. Just like your mother's side."

"Clearly those genes come from your father's side. Remember your uncle? Barely came up to my waist." He held his hand up above the ground for measurement's sake. Then he turned his attention to his daughter. "Didn't we always tell you to eat your bits of wheat? Instead of filling up on berries. We warned you. Too many can stunt your growth."

Cici stared at him. Did they really? She wanted to ask, but the only person she felt comfortable asking was Pinky and she knew she wouldn't get a reliable answer out of him. Still, it was also rather rude to call her short. Aunt Brie was fine, she was around Brain's height after all. Field mice must've been really big.

"Well, y'know, it's kinda hard to forage when you're all alone."

"Don't sass your father." Her mother wagged her finger scoldingly. "All you need to do is find a good tall boy. They always like the tiny ones; it makes them feel protective. And at least your head's not as big as your brother's."

"His head's not that big." Well, it was but she didn't like hearing them pointing it out.

"Don't talk back to your mother."

Wow, they were like the same person. Cici marvelled, having been under the impression that parents were usually the complete opposite. She nudged Pinky's side, getting him to put her down, then went over to stand by her aunt.

Brie immediately tucked an arm around the girl's shoulders, giving her a smile. "Why don't you have your own kids yet?" the mother demanded. "We set you up with that nice boy who was planning to live behind that HoagieWay."

"He always smelled like ham."

"He would've kept you fed. What about this little one?" She turned her attention on Brain. "You know your father and I are the only ones of our friends without any great-grandchildren."

"She's four months old!"

"That's plenty old enough to be thinking about family." She looked to her husband, gesturing frustratedly. "Kids these days. Having to get older and older."

"Back in our day, as soon as you were walking you were ready for a mate." He shook his head whilst folding his arms across his chest and Cici glanced back at Brain, confused. Great-grandchildren? What did that have to do with her?

"Oh no, Cici's just a baby!" Pinky explained as if they hadn't noticed. "She still needs us. She only just got her big girl bed." She shot him a look at that, but it went ignored by the taller mouse. "Why, it seems like just four months ago we found her..."

"Pinky, it _was_ four months ago." Brain rolled his eyes, going over to Cici and picking her up. Ready to breed at four months was barbaric! They weren't wild animals. He slid his gaze to his sister, who was quietly fuming. That was better than her quiet terror from before. "Behind HoagieWay?"

"Ham," she confirmed. "All the time. Before that it was one who lived in a tree."

"He was strong, scared those squirrels right out of their own nest. You need a good strong provider in your life. I hope you're teaching the little one everything she needs to know, but if she isn't even breeding yet..." She let that hang, but her disapproval was known.

Brain's chin lifted defiantly. "I'll have you know that my daughter is very intelligent and is in no need of such archaic rituals."

Despite the sour mood that hung in the air, Cici smiled brightly at the praise. A pat to her head let her know Pinky had come over as well, nodding in agreement with Brain.

"It's still important to know. They've got to know what to look for in a good mate, get the right traits for their own kids. Survival of the fittest. Being 'intelligent' won't matter if they can't fend for themselves." He looked to his wife for back-up, then back to Brain. "Clearly she got saddled with your height, you'll face the same problems we did with ours." He gestured to Brie. "So picky with every suitor we brought her way. There's just no pleasing you, missy."

Cici looked down at herself, then over at Brie. Well, that would be alright if she grew up to be that height. Aunt Brie looked just fine the way she was. And she wouldn't marry someone who smelled like ham either. Or lived in a tree.

"We taught your sister how to fend for herself."

"Excuse me, but I had to teach myself." Brie folded her arms, fighting the way she wanted to tremble in face of their criticisms. "You guys _left_ me."

"And you learned how to survive. You were plenty old enough to go out and find a husband on your own."

"I didn't want a husband! I hardly knew how to forage for food!"

She sighed, turning her gaze on her husband with a somber shake of her head. "I told you we should've left sooner."

"I know, dear, I just thought we'd have more luck getting grandchildren with her than him." He placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "He never seemed the type."

"Brain is a great daddy!" Pinky defended, patting his cagemate on the head. "And sister dear is a lovely sister!"

"Well, at least the boy's got some height to him." Attention was turned to Romy, who'd been slowly edging his way towards the cage door. This was a total drag and he didn't want any part in it. He should've known coming back to the cage would be a problem.

"That would be Pinky's influence," Brain muttered, still a tiny bit miffed that that particular plan had been ruined by a toenail. He was more than alright with how Roman had turned out, but it had been a really good plan.

"I thought you said he was your clone."

"He's a product of mine and Pinky's merged DNA. There was a small... accident."

The eldest two mice looked at one another, clearly unsure of what to make of that. Two _males_ having a child together? "Well... That's alright. Mistakes happen."

"Glarb," was Romy's opinion and, to everyone's surprise, they started to laugh.

"Glarb! Oh, he's funny like your friend, son."

"Joy," Brain muttered and hiked Cici up a little to give her a discreet nuzzle. This was unbearably stressful.

Since Pinky was also giggling over Romy's 'glarb', oh he did like that one, the little mouse took it upon herself to offer her dad some comfort. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. She hadn't liked them calling her brother a 'mistake,' had been about to speak up and tell them that he wasn't, that he was brilliant, but their laughter made her rethink that. They seemed to turn their opinion around. Her brow creased, families were very confusing and not very nice. Maybe that was why her dad was so grumpy. Not that she minded. Cici nuzzled him back and this gesture did not go unnoticed by his parents.

"So is she your 'clone' too? Another 'accident'?" Though, the way his father said that made it seem like he thought it was anything but.

"Actually, no." Brain's tone displayed just how much he detested the insinuation. "Cici is adopted and Pinky and I are both very pleased to have her," he added defiantly, as if daring them to disapprove.

"Very, very, very pleased." Pinky nodded on every 'very', bouncing on his heels.

Brain's parents had been about to respond, when a noise by the window drew their attention.

"Did you remember to bring the food pellets?"

"What food pellets?"

Never in his life did Brain think he would ever be grateful for Pinky's parents, but the relief that washed through him was unmistakable. He gave Cici a gentle squeeze before setting her down and Brie's ears perked. She'd seen a picture of his parents and wasn't surprised at all by their accents, but she was intrigued. And interested in meeting the empty wooden spool that was tossed onto the counter just before two heads popped above the window sill.

"I think we're in the wrong place. This looks like a lab," the shorter said, eyes seeming huge behind large spectacles. He blinked and waved as he pulled himself up to the counter. "Hello, son! Are we in the wrong place?"

"Dad! Mum!" Pinky cried out, leaping out of the cage to go greet them. "Sis! Oh, I've missed you!"

"We've missed you too, dear. Sis was putting up quite a fuss on the way. Weren't you, Sis?" The tall female gave the spool a pat, then opened her arms to accept Pinky's exuberant hug. Her husband and Sis were quickly pulled into the fray.

Cici's tail wagged, so far she liked the sound of her mommy-daddy's parents, though she still glanced warily at her dad's. She latched onto Brain's tail, just to be safe, then tried to peer through the cage bars to see them.

"I'm so glad you made it! _Narf!_ Everyone's already here, I want you to meet them! Though you remember Brain, of course." Pinky giggled as he said that, pushing his parents towards the cage.

"A brain? I've already got one," his father mused in his thick Cockney accent, but the minute he saw Brain, he reached out his hand for a firm, excited shake. "Hullo, Brain!"

Rather than let his arm get pulled out of socket, he side-stepped and gestured at the girl. "Our daughter, Cici."

"That's two whole words!" he exclaimed and immediately swept the girl up, bouncing her happily. "You know how to take over the world, eh? You give everything two words. The llamas will be so displeased, they'll leave and the clouds are yours!"

"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered.

"Is that where those pesky llamas hid the food pellets? In the clouds?" Pinky's mother asked, handing the spool of thread over to her son as she looked over Cici. "She reminds me of Sis when she was small."

"You know, I thought the same thing." Pinky agreed as the little girl giggled, then turned to Romy and Brie. "Here Sis! Meet our son Romy and Brain's sistah! And over there, that lovely couple is Brain's parents! _Troz!_ That's everyone!"

Romy waved, smiling. "Hey, Aunt Sis. Narf."

Brie looked from Romy to the spool and laughed. "You are _so_ Pinky's son."

"Pinky's son? Where?" The bespectacled mouse held the little girl out at arms length. "Aren't you a daughter? Egad!" He passed the girl to his wife, catching sight of the other occupants finally. He dug his elbow into Brain's side, making him shift away uncomfortably. "Taking over the world through subtraction, eh?"

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'multiplication," Brain replied, but was rather surprised that he'd actually used a mathematical word.

He seemed to think for a moment. "No, I don't think I meant anything about giraffes."

"Giraffe? Where?" The tall mouse woman looked around, eyes falling on Cici in her arms. "Are you the giraffe?"

Grinning, she shook her head. "No, I'm a mouse! Pinky's my mommy-daddy."

"A mummy-daddy? Oh, good job, son. I'm so proud, I always knew you'd make a good mother. You took such good care of the wood shavings in our old cage." She rocked Cici a little before setting her down.

Pinky did the same with Sis. "Of course, Sis. Cici, Sis wants to ask you something."

Glancing up at her parent, then back at the spool of thread, the little mouse waited. Romy had been able to talk to her, so she could too! But after a few seconds, she pouted. "I don't hear anything. What's she saying?"

"Cici," Brain muttered, wary of upsetting Pinky with so many people around, "it's a piece of wood. Inanimate objects don't speak."

"She wants to know where you got the bow," Romy put in and Brain rubbed his temples.

She looked from Romy to Brain. "He can hear her." Though knowing it was rude to ignore a question, Cici turned her attention back to Sis and fluffed her bow. "Pinky gave it to me for my early birth-month-day." When there was no response, she glanced at her big brother. "Did she hear me?"

"Well, yeah, she's not deaf." He rocked back on his heels, folding his arms over his chest.

Muttering under his breath, Brain continued rubbing at his temples and strode away. He grabbed Pinky's snout and dragged him down. "I hope you're happy." His inanity had infected both their children. She heard Brie ask Sis a question via Romy and his eye twitched. He'd infected all of them.

Pinky sniffled, blinking back tears of joy. "Oh, yes, Brain, I'm so happy! My parents are meeting our kids! It's like a fairy tale!" He hugged Brain tightly, spinning him in a circle.

"Pinky, don't!" It was embarrassing enough with just one or two of these mice in attendance, let alone all of them.

Beside Brain's father, Pinky's removed his spectacles to wipe his eyes. Seeing his son so happy had made him all misty-eyed. "Ain't love grand?" The tears dried up and he snapped his fingers. "That quote should be in movies!"

With a noise of agreement, Brain's father crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't know what your boy sees in ours though."

"Food pellets most likely," Pinky's mom piped up.

"Egad! You mean he has food pellets? That's amazing!" He gave a firm nod. "That's it, then. True love." With a bright smile, he slipped his glasses back on and looked to his wife. "Chase me." And he was off.

The tall female wasted no time in pursuing her husband. Cici watched them go, quickly realizing this was where Pinky got his games from. He loved finding different ways to get Brain to play 'Chase me'.

Brain's father looked to his own wife. "Say, now that's a way to attract a mate." They both turned their attention to Brie, who was still with Sis and Romy, then sighed collectively.

"Oh look, Brain!" Pinky finally dropped his cagemate in favor of pointing at his parents. "Can we play too? Oh, please, can we?"

"Absolutely not." Brain brushed himself off, scowling. Only a little bit more time with all of them and he could go to bed and forget this had ever happened. Romy dashed by, the spool rolling right behind him and Brain growled, waving his hands at Pinky as if to tear him to little pieces before throwing them in the air in frustration and storming off to the water bottle.

Pinky recoiled, ears wilting. Oh, he was used to the gesture and being on the receiving end of it, but he hadn't even botched anything up this time. "Poit," he mumbled, wringing his tail between his palms. He felt a small pat as his side and looked down. "Egad, Cici, Brain's all scowly with me. What should I do?"

She glanced from him to her other father. "I think Daddy needs to be by himself for a little while, that's all." It was rather crowded and hectic with everyone here, she supposed she didn't blame him for wanting quiet time. "I bet Auntie Brie wants to play! Right?" She turned to her aunt for support. It would be rather easy to cheer Pinky up, not so easy with Brain.

"Of course I want to play." Brie smiled, reaching out to give Pinky a hug. One thing she'd noticed about him was his quickness to give hugs, but how little he received them. "Brainiac will feel better soon."

Pinky perked up, hugging back quite readily. "Oh, thank you, sister dear! _Narf!_" He pulled away, all wiggles and tail wagging. Getting down on all fours, he started to run, glancing over his shoulder to see if she'd follow.

"Drat. You know I never catch you, kitsel!" But she still dropped down and bolted after him, not noticing the speculative looks of her observing parents.

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update! StarShineDC and I have been experiencing epic distractions the past few weeks xD Hopefully we'll get this one done soon and the rest of our stories in our queue our for you all to read and enjoy!

But yeah, the family's all here! What more stress can they cause everyone (i.e. Brain) and will they make it out alive? lol. Stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

Happy at least one of her parents was cheered up, Cici crept over to the water bottle, hands behind her back as she approached Brain. "What's wrong, daddy?" she asked softly, figuring exuberance was not what he needed at the moment, given how he'd snapped at Pinky. Her ears twitched as Pinky's laughter passed them, his running taking him towards the sink. He wasn't going as fast as usual though, actually giving Brie a chance to try and catch him.

Brain's gaze followed the sound, his ears twitching and his scowl deepening. "Hm. Nothing's wrong."

"There must be. You don't just get mad for no reason." She crossed her arms as she watched him, taking note of the creased brow. "You did say you didn't want to play with him."

"I don't." He turned his scowl on her, though it softened a bit when he noticed her stance. Incorrigible brat. "That activity is childish and pointless, as are the majority of Pinky's games." He heard his sister's squeal of laughter, looked over in time to see her and Pinky tumble into the sink and his glare turned into more of a glower.

"But what do you expect from a childish mouse?" She blinked, following his gaze to the sink. "He needs somebody to play with if you won't." Though come to think of it, it only seemed to bother him when it was her aunt who played with him. As she watched Pinky climb out of the sink, reaching out to help Brie up while giggling madly, Cici took a step closer to her father figure.

"Oh, fun-fun silly-willy!" Pinky chirped, grabbing Brie's arms and spinning them around.

"I'm aware," Brain grumbled, tearing his gaze away from them while the ridiculous jealousy burned in his gut. "Pinky's free to play with whoever he likes as he always has been."

"Then why are you sad about it?" Cici pressed, trying to meet his eyes. Her parents' relationship had always been a strange one, but it was very them at the same time. She knew the bops to the head were good things. She knew that Brain never really meant the words he said, and neither did Pinky when he'd inadvertently mention Brain's height or the size of his head. Or being chubby. But they weren't nearly as affectionate as the parents she saw on TV. Well, Pinky was but that was just Pinky. What she didn't understand was if Brain really wanted to play with Pinky secretly, why didn't he just do it? They were married, weren't they? Like parents tended to be? It wouldn't be strange for them to do things like that for no reason.

Brain looked down at her, the scowl fading into a frown. "Sad?" That was ridiculous. He certainly wasn't sad about Pinky playing with someone else, particularly not when it was his sister. It upset him, perhaps. Somewhat. In a very small, very vague sense. He fought the urge to look back at the two of them, not wanting a flare of jealousy to tell him otherwise.

Before Brie had come along, before Cici, it had just been the two of them. An odd extra person now and again, but it would always go back to normal quickly enough. Even when they'd had - _created_ - Roman, he'd been gone in a handful of days. But with their daughter that had changed and now with Brie it was changing further. He even saw more of their clone than he had before the child had come into their lives. And perhaps a small part of him missed that and the occasional moments where he simply had no choice but to play some insipid game with Pinky, if only because there was no one else to play with.

He reached out and gave Cici a pat on the head. "Of course it doesn't make me sad. It keeps him out of my fur."

"Okay..." She didn't quite believe him, but supposed sad wasn't the correct feeling. Though she already knew he wasn't mad, he'd be yelling if that were the case. Maybe he just missed him. "You guys should have special mommy and daddy time, when you're not taking over the world. Then maybe he'll stay out of your fur easier," she suggested, nodding at her own pearl of wisdom.

He gave her ear a small flick, the closest he had ever or would ever come to bopping her, as his color rose. "Special mommy and daddy time" shouldn't even be something she was aware of, though he was fairly positive she didn't know the full implications of what she had just said. They hadn't quite gotten to that section of biology, since the discussion of the difference between males and females had led to Pinky in tears when Cici had innocently told him that he wasn't a mommy. "Taking over the world is all the special time Pinky and I need together, little miss."

She giggled and brushed her ear. "Okay, if you're sure." Maybe they did play some games when out doing the plans. Not like she knew since she never got to go.

"My turn to chase you now, sister dear! I'll count to five! Poit. Oh, wait, that's too high... I'll count to two!"

"How many numbers do you think he'll put between one and two this time?" Cici asked, grinning as she looked past Brain to see Pinky crouched in his ready position.

"The real question is how much of what he says will even be an integer." Brain looked back at him, shaking his head when Pinky's rump wiggled playfully. The flare in his gut had nothing to do with jealousy but was just as unwelcome.

"One, seven, twelve, four, triangle, fish, ummm..." Pinky blinked, pursing his lips as he scrunched up his face in thought. "Umm... Brain?" he called out, "What comes next?"

There was some satisfaction in knowing that Pinky still called his name first when he needed something, no matter how many others were around. He waited a moment since Brie hadn't bothered to start running until Pinky had given up, allowing her a headstart. "Two, Pinky. Two comes next."

"Right, Brain! Two! Ready or not, here I come! _Narf!_" Pinky bounded after Brie, narrowly missing running smack dab into his parents, who had stopped their own game to watch the other two mice.

Brie looked over her shoulder, running in zag-zag patterns in an attempt to confuse the mouse, her giggles breathless. Pinky was too fast for her otherwise and she wanted to keep this game going as long as possible. It was easier to forget that her parents were around - so unapologetic, so unfeeling about what they'd done to her - when she was running, when she had something to do. She would so happily dart out the window and flee, but Pinky's parents had provided a welcome distraction, and she didn't want to leave Brain alone to face them.

The zig-zagging did confuse him at first, but Pinky quickly caught up. Before she could confuse him even more, he tackled her and they rolled across the counter right back over to the cage. "Checkmate!" Pinky cheered as he giggled once they came to a stop.

Laughing, she gave him a thrilled hug. "You win. You always win." With a happy kiss to his cheek, she gave him a shove. "Off."

Ducking his head bashfully, he got up and pressed a hand to his cheek, waving his other hand at her. "Ohhh, sister dear," Pinky laughed, not often being on the receiving end of kisses either, then helped Brie to her feet. "You're getting much faster! You'll win soon."

"It's not about winning." His mother put in her two cents, wrapping an arm around her husband. Though she didn't make to finish the saying.

"It's about food pellets and softness and cheese," his father added, nodding with each listed item.

"Food pellets? Where?" Pinky's mother started looking around, picking up Sis to check if they were under her.

"The important things in life." Brie giggled, releasing Pinky once she was up. "And I'm not getting faster. You slowed down."

Pinky simply brushed himself off. "I don't know what you're talking about. Poit." His attempt at nonchalance was interrupted a beat later by his own panic. "You can't prove anything!"

With another giggle, she gave him a pat and stepped into the cage. "I have witnesses."

"You did, Pinky. I saw, you went slower." Cici nodded, going over to her aunt, laughing as he turned up his head and crossed his arms as if insulted. It didn't last long, however. His giddy smile soon broke through and he swept up the little mouse onto his shoulders.

Brain frowned, moving away from the water bottle now that they'd returned, but he hesitated when both of his parents seemed to come out of nowhere, appearing on either side of his sister. Brie's ears wilted and she looked between them. "Um... What?"

"We can't congratulate our daughter?" her mother said, a gleam in her eye that was similar to the gleam Brain got when he got inspiration for a plan.

"Congratulate...?"

Her father nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, of course. We'd almost given up hope on you after all, but you turned out alright. We like this one."

"Like what one for what?"

"I told you - just like your father's side. Short and a little slow in the head." The mother tapped her brow, just beneath the helmet that allowed her speech. She gestured to Pinky. "He's a good choice. He's a looker, he's funny..."

The implication dawned and Brie shook her head rapidly. "Wait, hang on-"

"And great with kids. Hopefully that height will come through in yours." Her father added. "We knew you had it in you all along. Good job."

Only focusing on the praise for the time being, Pinky threw up his arms and smiled at her. "Hooray! Good job, sister dear!" He felt Cici's hold tighten around his neck, the squeeze bringing him back to the context of what they were actually saying. "Wait... poit. Who is this again?"

"They mean _you_, kitsel."

"See? You even gave him a nickname." Her mother patted her head, pleased, while Brain quietly fumed a few feet away.

"That doesn't mean Pinky and I... No!" She shook her head vehemently, taking a step away. "I would _never_ try and take Pinky away from Brain!"

With a gasp, Pinky darted over to grab onto Brain, nearly jostling their daughter off his back. Still not quite grasping the situation, a few things registered. He hugged his cagemate tightly and Cici took the opportunity of almost stillness to hop down to the floor though still grabbing onto his tail for safe-keeping, while Pinky rocked Brain back and forth. "Egad! Where I go, Brain goes! _Zort!_ Wait, where am I going?"

"You aren't going anywhere, you imbecile!" Brain managed, trying to wriggle out of the too-tight embrace. "Pinky, let me breathe!"

"See?!" Brie pointed at them, eyes wide and a little panicked. She'd never even considered Pinky in that way. "I can't marry Pinky! He's already married!"

"Yes I am! We both are! We even have an anniversary coming up," Pinky informed them, relaxing his grip enough so it was no longer physically painful for Brain. He still refused to release him though, choosing to nuzzle him affectionately in place of the squeezing.

"He is? We are?" Brain looked up at Pinky, color flooding his cheeks when this caused Pinky's nose to rub against his. "We do?!" While it was fairly obvious to the rest of them, he'd been struggling so hard to not put Pinky in that context that it came as a surprise. His blush deepened when the nuzzling didn't stop.

"Oh, yes, Brain. I was going to tell you, but I kept forgetting. You know me with remembering." He laughed, finally pulling away so he could look him in the eyes. "But sister dear said she'd help me. I'm planning something really special! I'm going to tell you how much I love you!" Beaming at his brilliant plan, it dawned on him that he just gave away the plan. "Oh, oops, wasn't supposed to say that yet."

"How much you... Pinky, I..." Trying to find something to distract from the situation, he glared over at his sister. "You were going to help him?"

She placed her hands on her hips, returning the annoyed stare. "Of course I was, you shmuk. He loves you and you love him too!"

Another gasp sounded from Pinky. "You do, Brain? Oh, I thought so!" And the nuzzling began again.

Cici simply stared up at them. "I thought mommies and daddies said they loved each other before they got married. And have kids."

Romy finally wandered over, carrying Sis, and set her down nearby. Now things were getting interesting. "I don't think they ever formally got married, Ceece."

"How are they supposed to do it correctly with Brain living a closet?" Brie muttered and he laughed.

Brain was just stunned. Had they really all been thinking...? Even Pinky?! "That's... It isn't the time for this," he tried, but had to tilt his head when Pinky's nuzzles found his neck. That didn't feel bad at all, and he had to struggle against annoyance when he paused.

"I think you have him confused with the mop, sister dear," Pinky giggled. "Brain lives in the cage with me!" There was a sharp tug on his tail. "And Cici. Poit."

"Mops! If you don't watch out, they'll steal your socks," Pinky's mother warned, his parents finally joining the group.

"You can't make puppets without good socks," his father put in, stuffing an entire food pellet into his mouth.

Romy made a face. "Yeah, I know. Glarb."

"You know, I was wondering about that. I'll just have to ask the mop for them back then. Troz." Pinky finally set Brain down, sensing his discomfort. He stayed close to him though, arms clasped behind his back as he smiled at him.

Brain could only stare at him, entirely uncertain of his ground at the moment. Pinky loved him and thought they were married. He'd never been interested in his sister and from how vehemently she'd dismissed the idea of being romantically attached to him, she was clearly uninterested in him. Brain felt an immense relief over this new information that he simply didn't want to feel. It only served to confirm exactly what she'd said - he loved Pinky. With a hard swallow, he took a step away. This wasn't the time to be thinking along these lines.

"That doesn't _look_ like Brain loves him," his mother interjected suddenly and Brain looked over to see her folding her arms, head shaking. "And he wasn't chasing after him like a married mouse should. You were." She glanced down at Brie, who straightened to her full, unimpressive height.

"It's different with Pinky! It's just a game!"

"Poit." Pinky tilted his head at the mother's observation. "I play with sister dear the same way I play with Sis or Cici. It's only serious playing with Brain. It's different." He glanced over his shoulder at his cagemate, eyes bright. "And he always looks like that! It's just how he is. Grumpy-grumbly!"

Pinky stealing his notes or his pencil to force Brain to play was him being serious...? Brain scowled, crossing his arms, and looked away from Pinky because he had to in order to get this out. "How I show... affection is entirely between Pinky and I. And I don't appreciate the rest of you," his glare lingered on Brie, "gossiping about it."

Brain's father looked to his wife. "Well, there goes that. We're still short a son-in-law." He eyed his son suspiciously. "Though we would've appreciated an invitation to the wedding. Or at least a call. Where was your head, boy?"

Brain threw his hands up, frustrated. "There hasn't _been_ a wedding! Pinky and I aren't married yet!" Yet. His own phrasing ringing in his ears, the megalomaniac buried his face in his hands.

"You've been having children out of wedlock? We raised you better than that," his mother scolded and Brain looked up again.

"You hardly raised me, mother. I was taken even before I'd been properly weened."

Brie blinked, cocking her head to the side. That explained a lot.

"Don't take that tone with your mother." Their father reprimanded. "You're walking a fine line, mister. Don't make me separate you."

Having heard that phrase before, directed at Pinky usually, Cici glanced up at her brother with a furrowed brow. "What does that even mean?" It made sense in the context of siblings fighting or wrecking havoc, but when applied to only one person... it just sounded silly.

"No idea, kid." He picked her up, setting her on top of the wooden spool. "Here. Aunt Sis wants to hold you. Narf."

Cici merely blinked down at her, still unsure of whether or not Sis could actually communicate with everyone. She was used to Pinky talking to inanimate things, but with his parents and Romy all joining in made her second guess her assumption that she couldn't.

Pinky was still scratching his head, stuck on the bit about them having kids. "Why would we want to put them in a lock? That doesn't seem very nice. They're not all that spacious. And they're for keys, aren't they?"

Annoyed, Brain grabbed his muzzle and dragged him down. "It means we had Romy and adopted Cici before being technically married." He released Pinky with a scowl. "Which hardly matters."

"Of course it matters. Kids need a stable environment, can't get that if their parents haven't even had proper vows." Brain's father shook his head. "What if one of you just took off? How would you explain that?"

"Took off what?" Pinky blinked, rubbing his nose absently.

"Left, Pinky. He's suggesting that one of us might leave and not return." Fur bristling, Brain shifted closer to his cagemate. "Which neither of us would do."

"You can't say that for sure," his mother argued. "It's easy to leave when there aren't any strings."

"I have plenty of reasons to stay with Pinky!" he snapped and Brie had to bite her lip to keep the snickers at bay. Oh, he was just coming out of that closet in leaps and bounds now.

Pinky mimicked Brain's frown, raising a fist to the air. "Yeah! Poit! And I would never leave either!"

"You can't anyway, Pinky. You don't know how to open the cage." Cici pointed out.

"That may be so, but even if I could, I... umm... what was I saying?" He looked to his daughter for a hint, scowl gone and confusion replacing it.

"You won't leave?"

"Right! And I trust Brain!" Pinky concluded, hands on his hips with a satisfied nod. "We have all sorts of strings! Red ones and green ones and purple ones too!"

"Fine, fine, but what about these two?" Brain's mother demanded, gesturing at Cici and Romy.

"What _about_ them?! Roman lives with his girlfriend and knows that he's free to return to the cage whenever he needs," Brain snapped and didn't notice the way Romy's eyes widened. He knew that was true as far as Pinky went, but to hear it from his dad was news. "As for Cici, I would never abandon her! She's my daughter and I happen to care about my children, which is a trait I don't believe I inherited from either of you."

Furious, on a roll, Brain pointed at his father, glaring daggers when he opened his mouth. "Do _not_ interrupt me. I am the future ruler of this world and I will not be overruled or overrun by two mice who would abandon their own children without a second thought! I was two weeks old and running to you and neither of you did a thing to help me! Brie was four months old and you didn't even tell her you were planning on going! That's callous and cruel and I am _not_ going to leave the family I love for any-" He cut himself off then, realizing abruptly that he was being stared at in plain shock by everyone except Pinky and his parents, the latter of whom seemed to have located the food pellets and were quite unperturbed by the argument.

Oh. He lowered the hand he'd been pointing with, tapped his fingertips together. "For any... reason," he finished lamely, ears falling.

Cici and Romy exchanged glances, their mouths still relatively agape, while Brain's parents remained stunned into silence, a very strange occurrence for them. Pinky, however, just grinned brightly and practically beamed with pride at his "husband." He leaned down, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him into a half-hug. "Well done, Brain! Couldn't have said it better myself! Poit," he praised, rubbing their cheeks together.

This broke the youngest mouse from her stupor. She climbed down off Sis and dashed over to Brain's other side, sandwiching him between her and Pinky. "I love you too, daddy!" She grinned, holding tight to his arm.

His cheeks, already reddening just from the realization of what he'd been saying, deepened considerably with the affection from Pinky and the words from Cici. It only worsened when Romy joined them, rubbing the top of Brain's head. "That was so narf, dad."

It was serving as an adjective now. Wonderful. But he couldn't quite work up enough irritation to overrule the mortification. "Yes, well... Ahem."

Brie only smiled, leaning against Sis. "Careful, you guys. Brainiac looks like he's about to pop." The nickname was delivered with affection lacing her tone. He was angry on her behalf. Who knew?

"Egad, Brain! Don't pop!" Pinky let go immediately, grabbing Cici and holding her out of the way above his head, sending the little mouse into a fit of giggles. "Who will ask me if I'm pondering what you're pondering if you pop?"

"I'm not literally going to pop." Though the sudden absence had him tilting to the side abruptly enough that Romy had to reach out and steady him to keep him from toppling over. The irritation of that helped immensely, lowering the intensity of the blush. "Brie's exaggerating."

"No, she's a mouse." Pinky blinked, but calmed down enough to place Cici back down on the ground.

"A mouse? Where?" His mother looked around frantically. "Call the ghostbusters before it takes our food pellets!"

"Take our food pellets? That's rather rude, isn't it?" his father mused. "We'll have to tell the grasshoppers to keep watch."

With a soft groan, Brain buried his face in his hands. Could this evening be over already? It had been even more stressful than even he'd been expecting and certainly more mortifying.

"Well..." His father cleared his throat, glancing at his wife awkwardly. "Your mother and I have a flight to catch." Straightening and falling back into his typical, abrasive self, he gestured to the door. "And remember to fix that door of yours. It's still squeaking."

Brain gritted his teeth. Oh, of _course_. "While I'm at it, why don't I just patch the holes?" he snapped, but his sarcasm wasn't missed by his parents. Neither of whom were willing to snap back just then, so turned their attention on Brie.

"Don't slouch like that, missy. You'll never find a husband like that."

"She'll find a husband when she wants one!" That was enough. He'd had enough of all of them, absolutely all of them. While his parents exchanged glances and quickly vacated, each ready to talk about how rude their boy was once safely on their flight, Brain picked up Cici, gave her a squeeze and a nuzzle and shoved her at Romy.

"You and your aunt are having a slumber party at Roman's."

"Aw, man," Romy protested, but Brain was already moving on.

"Pinky, say goodbye to your parents and give them all the food pellets it takes to make them leave."

"Right, Brain!" Pinky saluted, spinning around to wave his parents over. "Goodbye to your parents and give them all the food pellets it takes to... to... ummm. _Narf!_ What was that last part, Brain?"

"It doesn't matter, Pinky!" He jumped up and gave Pinky a bop since it made him feel better. "Just send them home!"

"Zort!" Pinky wobbled, then collected himself and nodded. "Oh, right. Mum! Dad!" Turning his attention to the pair of them, and Sis of course, he went over to hug them tightly. "Thank you so much for coming! You must visit again soon!"

His mother returned the embrace. "Of course, son. Just remember to brush your vitamins and take your ears."

"And don't forget to warn the elephants about the woozy-what's-its. Otherwise they'll get applesauce all over the kangaroos." The bespectacled mouse hefted up the wooden spool and gave it a pat. "Say goodbye, Sis." There was a beat of silence and all three of them teared up. "Always good with words, this one."

"Bye, Sis." Pinky sniffled, giving the spool her own separate hug and nuzzle. "Be good for mummy and dad."

Taking her husband's arm, the female mouse guided him out of the cage. "Come along, dear. I think I left the food pellets in the oven again."

"I do that all the time," Pinky sighed in understanding, wiping his eyes as his parents left the cage.

Thrilled to have both sets of parents gone, Brain grabbed his sister by the ear and tugged her over to his children. "Owowowowow-" When he released her, she gave it a rub, punching his shoulder with her free hand. "You shmuk."

He pointed at the door. "Out. We'll come and get you tomorrow night." Brie started to smile, gaze flicking between him and Pinky, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "I suggest you keep that thought to yourself."

"Are you going to have special mommy and daddy time now after all, Brain?" Cici asked, reaching out to Pinky for a hug and kiss goodbye.

Brain fidgeted, some of his mad being replaced with discomfort. "You're entirely too young to know about the concept of 'special mommy and daddy time,' as you so eloquently put it."

Brie shrugged, rocking back on her heels. "I knew at four weeks. At least she doesn't know the whole of it."

"That's entirely different and it's poor parenting," he muttered, scowling, and was entirely unprepared for her hug.

"I love you, bro."

"That..." He patted her back awkwardly, the blush rising to his cheeks once more. "We can discuss it tomorrow."

"Goodnight," Pinky rubbed Cici's head, then gave Romy a hug, squishing the girl between them. "Sleep tight! _Narf._"

"Goodnight, mommy-daddy." Came the muffled voice from being pressed against his chest. When he released both children, she shook out her fur and gave him a look, rather reminiscent of Brain, before turning to her other father. "Goodnight, daddy."

"Goodnight, Cici." He reached out, frowning, and fixed her bow. "Thank you for behaving yourself tonight. I'm very... proud of you."

She ducked her head, a bashful yet pleased smile gracing her features. Which quickly became amused as Pinky waved his arms about. "I'm proud too!"

"Pinky, you would've been proud of her if she'd belched the alphabet," he grumbled. It wasn't a compliment or an insult, merely a statement of fact. He looked down at their daughter. "Do not learn how to do that."

Cici nodded, covering her mouth to smother her giggles. "Yes sir."

"Oh, but she'd be so good at it, Brain!" Pinky attempted to make him see reason, since clearly it made perfect sense for her to learn such a skill. "She has a lovely voice."

"I'll sing it for you instead, Pinky." She compromised, placating the taller mouse.

"Hooray!" He chirped, giving her one more kiss. "Okay, goodnight for real."

"Yes, goodnight. Go." Brain waved them away, giving his sister a last glare to prevent whatever she was going to say.

Instead, she bounded up to Pinky to pull him down. With a giggle, she kissed both his cheeks. "Now he knows you're boyfriends, but we can still plan something special for your anniversary," she whispered.

He blushed and giggled, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Oh, thank you, sister dear! Though I still don't remember when that is. Poit. I'll have to get back to you."

"We'll check when I get back tomorrow." She leaned back and gave him a pat, throwing an amused look at her brother when he cleared his throat.

"Are you quite through?"

She grinned. "Gonna take my place, bro?"

He narrowed his eyes and pointed to the cage door, but she'd succeeded in working another blush out of him. Oh, yeah, teasing him was going to get a lot more fun after this. "Out."

"Bye bye!" Pinky waved as the little group vacated the cage, kept on waving until they were out of sight. "Oh, that was fun, Brain! Almost as much fun as one of your plan thingies blowing up in our faces!"

Brain reached up and grabbed his ear, using it to pull him down. "Sometimes I wonder if the two of us have actually shared in the same experiences or if you're some sort of illusion." He released his ear. "Perhaps I'm in a mad house somewhere."

"Umm... isn't that the place you always say I belong in, Brain?" Rubbing his ear, Pinky straightened back up to cross his arms. "And I think I'd know if I was an infusion. Give me some credit."

Brain opened his mouth to retaliate, but shook his head. "Sometimes, you make it too easy for me, Pinky." He clasped his hands together and strode out of the cage, heading for the window to latch it and prevent any unwanted returns. Now that he was alone with Pinky, he could _think_ again. And the predominant thing on his mind was his own exclamations of love and family.

His shoulders straightened with no small amount of pride. In his opinion, he was an excellent parent. Of course, the coddling was beyond him and he let Pinky get away with entirely too much, but he was an excellent parent nonetheless. His children were intelligent and, more, had been eager to learn. Even Romy had been, soaking up the knowledge Brain had placed before him like a sponge. And now Cici, who happily sat through his lessons... until Pinky got lonely and started to wander over. Once that happened, he knew to start wrapping her lessons up to let her go play. And he kept her safe.

As he locked the window, he nodded to himself. That was more important now than it had ever been before. His own parents were so... callous and cruel, just as he'd said. To think that they would try marrying his sister off so quickly and then lament the fact that they hadn't left her sooner. Weren't mice stigmatized enough already without the reminder that they were, in fact, wild animals? He came from field mice, and it was now a shade worse than embarrassing. Though it did give him a mission that he would keep to himself, even while he reveled in the pride that he was already succeeding. He was a much better parent than either of his own.

Now to the rest of it. The marriage part of it. He'd been fighting off these thoughts for quite a while now. He could tie the realization of it to a specific moment, but he imagined the stirrings had been occurring in some part of his mind long before he'd had to watch Pinky walking away with the devil, his soul traded and Brain's efforts to save him lost. But he'd buried those emotions, keeping them hidden rather firmly... until his memory-viewing machine had revealed that Pinky considered _him_ to be home. That moment had brought those stirrings to the forefront of his mind, and they hadn't been pleased about being pushed back a second time.

He sighed, reaching out and resting a hand on the glass. He didn't have to look behind him to know that Pinky had followed. Pinky always followed. They were alone now and he could think, so perhaps it was time to think about these stirrings and their ramifications. "What makes you think we're married, Pinky?"

Blinking at their reflections in the window, the taller mouse fidgeted and twisted his lips as he thought. Why did he think they were married? It just seemed so obvious. "Well, we love each other, right Brain? We're best friends together, we live together, and we do fun things like try to take over the world together. And we have a family. Isn't that all what married people do?" Pinky clasped his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels as he smiled at Brain's reflection, even if he wasn't looking at him. "And married is forever. Poit. I think it sounds rather nice to spend forever with you."

He certainly wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else. He could hardly remember a time where the other mouse wasn't there. The thought of him one day leaving, like Mr. and Mrs. Brain's parents said, certainly crossed his mind, for he had done so on several occasions, though it was long before Romy or Cici. But he always came back. Pinky made sure he always came back. Sure, it would be lonely for a few days like when he left to make his own musical or to become a ski instructor, but it all worked out in the end. He trusted him after all.

"I _want_ to spend forever with you, Brain."

Spending forever with Pinky was a given. Of course he was going to spend forever with him. That was almost married, but Pinky's list had neglected the more romantic elements of a marriage. But everything else... Yes, they had that. "Hm." He turned towards Pinky and tightly held himself in check. If Pinky was disinterested, things would continue on as normal and that would be perfectly alright. "Married people also indulge in romance."

"Oh, I know that, Brain. That's what the anniversary was supposed to be for!" Pinky told him as if it were obvious, gesturing towards him. "I was going to plan a lovely dinner with candles, that's supposed to be romantic, though I don't know why we have to eat with others present. I am rather shy outside of the bedroom, you know." He told him secretly, giggling a little and batting his eyelashes. "Now where was I? Ah, yes. Then we were going to go dancing! After that, a shared dessert where we only have one spoon! Or fork. I suppose it doesn't matter. Finally, to a rose petal bed where we do the second kind of sleeping! Did you know there are two different ways to sleep? One is sleeping and the other... well, I'm not quite sure what the other way is, but I think it has to do something with all the warm, tingly feelings I get around you. Especially when you wiggle against me all squirmy-wormy!" Pinky hugged himself and laughed out loud, swaying back and forth. "I really like that. _Narf!_"

Reminded of being caught together in the spring, Brain couldn't help the blush that flooded his cheeks. Pinky's actual plan didn't help anything either. It was ridiculous and cliched and... wonderfully Pinky. "I was... aware of the second kind of sleeping, yes. It involves... very little sleeping and quite a bit of... squirming."

"Oh, fun-fun silly-willy!" Pinky clapped his hands together, then leaned down to be eye level with Brain. "I was hoping you'd say that! _Troz!_" His blush intrigued him however, and his eccentric levels turned down a notch. Reaching out, he poked his cheek. "You're all cherry red like a cherry, Brain."

"It's stunning that you selected something of the correct hue," Brain grumbled, but the blush didn't recede. He was closer now, close enough, and they were alone. "I could... That is, we could..." Nervous, feeling some of those warm, tingly feelings Pinky had mentioned, he swayed forward and touched their noses together.

"Naaaaaaaaaarf." Pinky nuzzled him gently, asking in a quiet voice, "We could what, Brain?"

It was the gentleness and the quiet that tipped the scales, not unheard from Pinky, but unusual nonetheless. It had him sliding forward, hands lifting to Pinky's cheeks, to touch their lips together. It was light, brief, and left him quivering. It was a change, the start of an irreversible one. "We could try some of those romantic things now," he murmured.

"Fun-fun silly-willy," he said softly, donning his own matching blush. Pinky leaned in to return the favor, but couldn't help the small giggles against his lips. "I was hoping you'd say that. Poit." He wrapped his arms around Brain to pull him closer. "Happy Anniversary, Brain."

After this last change, there would be no more. Brain just wouldn't allow it. They would take this step, settle into a new routine with rules Brain approved of, and that would be that. With a determined little nod, he gave Pinky a small nuzzle. "Yes, well... Happy Anniversary."

* * *

Personally, my favorite chapter. Brain's explosion of feels and Pinky's adorableness and just... all the things! And their anniversary xD Oh, it makes me all fuzzy inside. I love it.

All that's left is our epilogue, guys! Which you can read if you so choose, but here's fair warning... it's very much full of "mommy and daddy time" xD C'mon, they've had so much pent up sexual frustration in this story (just one instance really... maybe two) that we had to give them some time alone together. Sooooo... think of it as their wedding night, the precursor to their honeymoon.

Which should be coming up next on StarShineDC's account. So keep an eye out for that!

Thanks for reading!


	8. Epilogue

Warning: Mature Content Ahead.

Since the majority of this story is not M-Rated, it didn't seem necessary to up the rating for the entire story. This chapter isn't necessary to the plot, it's just a nice way to wrap things up and for Brain and Pinky to consummate their marriage in StarShineDC's and mine's OC-verse.

Please be responsible and not continue on in this epilogue if mature, sexual content between two male mice is not your cup of tea. You have been warned.

* * *

"Narf!" Sweeping him up, Pinky spun Brain around and pressed a deeper kiss to his lips. It made his heart all a-flutter and his stomach all squirmy-wormy. "Can we do all the fun, romantic things I had planned, Brain? The dinner, dancing, dessert, and- hmm... well, bed doesn't start with 's' like all the others. Kinda throws the rhythm off, doesn't it."

Saying "doing it" would be vulgar, so Brain refrained from the mortifying impulse. "They start with 'd,' not 's.' But I suppose we could. We do have the whole night."

"Oh, wonderful! I want to wooooo yoooou." Pinky set him down and traced the edge of his ear before giving a little twirl.

"I hate to admit it, Pinky, but you're well on your way." He lifted a hand to his ear. "How long have you been considering all of this?"

He pressed a finger to his chin as he thought, humming as if it would help. "Hmm... I can't remember, but I do know it was before we had Cici and even before Romy! _Troz._ I wanted to tell you, but I always forgot, and then when I did remember it was usually in the middle of a plan thingy so I had to wait. But then I'd just forget again! I'm sorry, Brain." Pinky ducked his head and swept his foot along the counter. "I never forgot that I loved you though. Poit. I know that much."

"I know you didn't, Pinky. The one thing you never seem to neglect are feelings." And that was... quite a long time to be waiting for all of this. For both of them. Brain swallowed and stepped forward, lifting his hands to Pinky's cheeks again, touched their noses together. "Why don't I... get the candles so we can begin?"

"'Kay! I'll make dinner! Want me to sauté the food pellets in some three in one oil? I know you like that." He rubbed his nose against Brain's, giggling to himself as his cheeks felt all tingly where Brain was touching.

"Pinky, we don't have... Drat!" Brain scowled, brow furrowing. "We need three in oil if we're going to have... er..." The blush flooded his cheeks again.

Tilting his head, Pinky nestled his cheek further into Brain's palm. "Have what, Brain?" he asked, once again drawn to the flush of color against his cagemate's fur. "I can go pick some up if we need it that badly."

"Have s... se... I mean, well..." He averted his gaze. "I suppose we don't... ah..." He cleared his throat nervously. "Being that neither of us have ever- It may not come to full... It does depend on mood, after all..." But the fact that he'd thought of it did mean that he wanted to. He bit his lip, looking back up at Pinky. "It can be useful for the... second kind of sleeping."

He'd been starting to get concerned, Brain was usually so good with words! But his tail started wagging and a smile spread across his face. "Oh, then we must get some, Brain! It's part of my plan. I can't woo you properly if we can't do the last part."

"Well, there are... many ways of doing the last part." His hands fell from Pinky's face so they could wring together. He was beginning to worry very much that he wouldn't be able to get through the first part of the evening without thinking about the final part. "Not all of them require a... lubricant."

Pinky blinked at his friend, waiting a beat before taking hold of Brain's hands and asking as seriously as possible, "Do you want to do the way that needs a loobycat?" He'd heard of stranger things. Patting his hands, he continued, "I want to do what you want to do, Brain, so I'll go get some... though I thought we were talking about three in one oil... poit."

"Three in one oil is a lubricant, Pinky, which is why it can be used for... many things." He adjusted their hands so their fingers could lace, slowly looking up from them to his cagemate's face. "I would very much like to try the way that... needs it. If you, ah, find yourself enjoying the precursors." Because he was certainly not going to bottom.

"Oh, I'm sure I will, Brain!" Pinky nodded enthusiastically, wiggling with excitement even as he leaned in to give Brain another kiss. "I'll go get the lubberlykit then. _Narf!_ Want me to pick up anything else while I'm out? Ooooh, what kind of dessert do you want?"

"I'm sure whatever you'd like will be fine, Pinky." He was reasonably sure he wouldn't be able to pay enough attention to it anyway. He'd seen Pinky by candlelight before courtesy of the occasional power-outage and it was rather distracting, the way his oddly blue eyes shone in it. He pressed a hand over his stomach, where the tingles and butterflies were most prominent. Perhaps he'd arrange a few candles around their bed as well.

"'Kay! Don't worry, Brain, I'll make sure everything's extra special." He rubbed their noses together, then promptly distracted by the way Brain held his stomach. "Does your tummy hurt, Brain?"

"No, it... I'm merely being overrun by butterflies," he mumbled. He slid his arms around the taller mouse's neck. "This will either make them worse or ease them." He brushed his lips over Pinky's once, twice, before settling them firmly together on a hungry little sound.

Pinky responded immediately to the sound, despite the first two kisses making him dizzy, placing his hands on Brain's waist and rubbing circles into the soft fur with his thumbs. His breath hitched with a small gasp, "I feel them too, Brain," and he dove in for another kiss, eager. The butterflies tickled his stomach down to his knees, and Pinky let them give out so he could be more at Brain's height, kneeling in front of him. "I think I just swooned, Brain." His voice breathless only for the fact it felt like his heart was inflating in his chest. He couldn't even giggle over the fact that 'swoon' was a funny word.

"Yes..." There was something incredibly enticing about Pinky being on his knees. Brain slid his hands to Pinky's shoulders, back up to trace the curve of his ears. He felt hot where Pinky's hands rested on his waist, warm everywhere else. "Pinky," he breathed, capturing his lips yet again, pressing their bodies together while his hands slid down, sliding into and gripping the fur of his friend's back.

Shivers followed Brain's touch, resulting in Pinky's back arching at the grip, the fur of their chests shifting together as he moved against him. Warmth spread from his belly out. His fingertips danced up his sides until reaching his shoulders, then allowed his arms to wrap around them. "Brain... Brain, I..." But the thought escaped as it suddenly occurred to him that it would be a good idea to lap at Brain's lips and nudge his own closer, humming all the while.

Brain's lips parted on a moan, tongue seeking Pinky's. "Pinky," he tried, but his breathy voice was muffled so he had to pull back a little. "Pinky, you're not going to make it to the store. We're just going to have to do what we can without extra lubrication." His announcement was broken up, punctured by kisses, and his hands never stopped roving over Pinky's back, fingers delving into fur and massaging. Part of him worried that if it was interrupted now, he would never work up the courage to start again.

"Store?" he mumbled into the kisses, hands caressing the top of Brain's head and over his ears. His head rapidly filling with sensations; Brain's scent and touch and taste. The sound of his voice. He wanted more of it all. Pinky's blue-eyed gaze was half-lidded as he practically purred from the hands on his back. "No, don't stop, Brain. We can't stop now..." He whined before sealing his mouth over Brain's, seeking out more warmth and taste.

He hadn't been suggesting they stop, but didn't bother to correct him. He managed to get Pinky onto his back, breaking the contact for only a moment while he got his legs straightened before continuing the kiss, deepening it, pouring himself into it. They were still on the window sill, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered in that moment beyond touching Pinky. He hung over him, propped up with his knees on either side of Pinky's body so his hands could roam and discover. "Won't stop," he managed. "More, Pinky."

"More? How, Brain?" He gasped, wiggling into this new position and taking the opportunity to let his hands roam over Brain's back this time. He paid particular attention to the small of his back, right above the base of his tail, massaging and gripping the fur there. Instinctively, since his head was so cloudy and tingling, Pinky tilted his head and started kissing Brain's neck, trailing his tongue through the fur now and then. "Like this?"

"Just like that," he agreed, hips rocking back, tail lifting. His head tilted to the side, allowing more access even while his body scooted down just enough for him to be able to lower and grind himself against Pinky's groin. "Do you remember what was happening when we were trapped in the spring?"

His teeth nipped Brain's collarbone as he bit down on his lower lip, muffling a groan. His hips raised as his head fell back. "Squirmy-wormy and hot." Pinky nodded and wrapped his fingers around Brain's tail. "_Narf._" Swallowing thickly, he blinked up at Brain, eyes widening as he took in the sight of his cagemate bathed in the light of the moon from the window. "You're so pretty, Brain. Like magic."

He would've scoffed at the words, but his breath caught from the bite and his back arched into the touch. Besides, they'd come from Pinky so they'd been absolutely sincere. There was a pulsation between his legs, his need beginning to really make itself known, but it was the way his heart quivered that guided his actions. He slid his hands back up, cupping Pinky's cheeks. Those blue eyes were wide and dazed, sparkling with stars of their own courtesy of the moonlight. "Pinky, you're so beautiful." He lowered his lips, kept the kiss gentle. "I'll try and make this magical for you."

Flushing darker at the compliment, Pinky giggled airily into the kiss. "You already have, Brain." He started stroking Brain's tail, committing the feel of each bend and break to memory.

Moaning softly, reveling in the touch, Brain began unconsciously rutting his half-hard length against Pinky's (so soft, so warm) belly. His fingers stroked down his sides, memorizing the curves, ruffled the fur as he caressed just to see what the mouse beneath him liked.

He didn't know what was pressing into him, but he liked it. Even more those sounds Brain made, shooting sparks of pleasure deep in his gut. Eyes slipping closed, he pushed his stomach up, while squirming against Brain's touch along his sides. Pinky stretched along the counter, opening up more of himself to be petted and stroked, happy little noises bubbling out of him.

"Yes," Brain whispered, lifting himself back up to his knees. His ears were perked, soaking up the noises, leaving him eager for more. He ignored the hands on him for the moment, focusing on where his own were. He brought them up, caressing Pinky's chest while his lips lowered to his neck. While he nuzzled, his hands stroked lower and lower, finally getting to Pinky's thighs. He rubbed gently, nerves pricking at him, preventing him from going between his legs just yet.

Pinky tilted his head back, exposing more of his neck. "Mmmm..." His thighs twitched, unconsciously spreading as Brain rubbed. "Brain..." he moaned quietly, massaging his tail more firmly. The heat in his gut concentrated right in the middle of his thighs, throbbing dully, and his eyes scrunched a little.

"Pinky..." The spread of his legs, the way he moaned - it only served to chase the nerves away, replacing it with a warm eagerness. "Don't be frightened," The Brain requested, one hand slipping back up to cup and caress his hip, the other sliding to Pinky's groin. He cupped the quivering pouch there and gave it a gentle caress before slowly running a finger up the length of what had already emerged from it. His own shaft gave a pleasant throb, making him moan into the curve of his consort's neck.

Shivering, Pinky arched his back, pushing his hips up as his erection twitched at the touch. He squeezed his eyes tighter, not from fear, but rather from the intensity of it all. It felt like Brain was stroking the fire inside him, making him hotter. A needy whimper slid out of him as the moan vibrated against his neck and he tugged on the crooked tail in his grasp. "Egad..." His hands slipped over to massage Brain's thighs, raking his fingers through the fur before kneading them firmly.

He let out another moan, wrapping his fingers around Pinky's sex and giving a firmer pump than he'd intended. But he finally had Pinky beneath him and the delicious noises he made were irresistible and all for him. Brain lapped at Pinky's neck, working his way up to nuzzle his cheek, nip the base of his ear. "Touch me how I'm touching you, Pinky."

Another moan and a sharper twitch of his hips as pleasure rippled through him. Blue eyes popped open, seeing their reflection in the window. "Right, Brain..." Pinky nodded quickly, panting and chest heaving with each staggered breath. His hands slid over to cup Brain, slowly exploring this new piece of his lover. He stroked up and down, looking up to watch and take in Brain's reaction, torn between his face and his groin.

Brain stilled at the touch, looking up. He followed Pinky's gaze and gave a small fidget when he saw their reflection as well. Locked together, hands stroking and exploring. They really shouldn't be doing this in the window, but he looked back at Pinky and gazed into those dazed blue eyes and he forgot again where they were. "Yes," he breathed and caught Pinky's lips in another kiss. His hand began to move a little firmer, a little quicker.

Pinky kissed back hungrily, wrapping the fingers of one hand around Brain's length and mimicking the pumping motion. His own hips rolled up, attempting to match Brain's rhythm even as his legs spread wider. "Brain," he groaned into his mouth, "Naaaaaaarf."

He thrusted into Pinky's hand, panting. "Pinky," he whimpered. Next time, they were getting the oil. "Just- Yes." He brought his other hand down from Pinky's waist, toying with the leaking head. When Pinky mimicked him, his head fell back on a guttural sound. "Pinky!"

"Brain!" His head fell back, his free hand gripping Brain's thigh as the one around his erection went faster, brushing his thumb over the tip. Pinky trembled as his entire body throbbed, rocking harder beneath Brain. "Egad, Brain!"

His eyes wanted to cross, so he closed them, rubbing his nose over Pinky's. "Yes, Pinky, yes. Just like that..." His voice was breathy and low, body moving so much more by instinct than by design. It was terrifyingly simply to lose control like this, but he was too far gone to care.

Pinky lapped at Brain's chin as he whined, eager and needy and confused. The heat in his belly was building, writhing within him with each pump of Brain's hand and each thrust of his hips. He didn't want to stop, couldn't stop, but as it steadily increased, he grew desperate. His hand moved up from Brain's thigh, raking through the fur of his chest, touching all that he could. "It feels really good, Brain, really... egad... Brain...!" He moaned louder, kissing the corner of Brain's mouth.

"Yes, yes, yes," he managed each repetition growing in volume and desperation. He was getting closer with every motion. "It's alright. It's alright, Pinky, just let it happen..."

"But, Brain...!" It was so tempting to let his eyes close and give in, but he needed to see Brain, needed to focus on him despite his blue eyes darkening and fogged from the onslaught of sensation. "It's too much! I'm gonna explode...!" Pinky cried, arching into him. "I don't want to explode, Brain!" But he needed more. More of the feelings, more of Brain's sounds. His own hand around Brain squeezed and stilled, thumb pressing down on the head of his length.

Brain lifted a hand and laid it over Pinky's cheek, torn between focusing on how so very close he was and reassuring the one who'd brought him to this point. He pressed their noses together, opened his eyes so they could blearily focus on the wide blue ones. "I've got you, Pinky." He groaned, mentally clawing himself back from the edge. "It's alright. Just let it..."

"Braaaaaiin!" Pinky moaned, tilting his face into Brain's palm as his hips thrust desperately before his entire body stiffened. He came with a choked cry, hand jerkily sliding against Brain's arousal and his body wracked with spasms as he rode it out.

Brain thrusted into Pinky's hand a final few times, vision going white-hot as he let himself go. "Yes!" he cried, release spilling onto Pinky's hand and over their bellies. When he was emptied, his body simply collapsed and he dropped onto his lover, moving his hand from between their bodies with as little physical effort as possible.

Panting beneath him, Pinky's head lolled to the side and he blinked blearily at their reflections once more. Oh, they did look good together. He smiled and closed his eyes, settling his arms around Brain with a quiet sigh and a soft nuzzle. "Naaaaaaarf..."

"Yes... Well..." Turning his head seemed to be a lot of effort, so Brain let it drop, face buried against Pinky's shoulder. "That was..."

"Glorious." Pinky purred, cuddling Brain as much as he could in his drained, yet sated state. He licked Brain's ear fondly. "Poit."

The smaller mouse shivered a little, curling his fingers into Pinky's side. His hand was sticky, but he couldn't work up enough energy to be disgusted. "Yes, glorious," he murmured.

With a giggle, Pinky opened his eyes and moved his head so he could better see Brain. "I don't know what that had to do with sleeping though, Brain," he piped up, then took notice of the white substance on his own hand. Curiously, he brought his palm up to taste then proceeded to clean it, humming as he lapped it up.

Brain watched, eyes widening. His grip tightened minutely, length giving a half-hearted twitch at the undeniably erotic sight. "Pinky," he breathed, entranced by his tongue.

"Hmm?" He stopped, blinking at the smaller mouse. "Brain?" Still a bit of stickiness on his fingers, he popped them into his mouth one by one and sucked them clean, keeping his blue gaze on pink the entire time. "Did you want me to clean you too?" Pinky asked between his first and second digit.

"I..." His shaft gave another twitch, but he couldn't possibly get aroused again so quickly. His body was putting up a rather interesting fight to prove his mind wrong, however. "Yes," he decided, just to see, just to feel that tongue on him.

Nodding delightedly, Pinky reached for the hand curled in his side and drew it up to his mouth. His tongue laved against his palm in short, soft strokes, the taste strange but not unpleasant. The fluid smelled strongly of both of them, igniting Pinky's interest in learning more about this taste and scent. He slid Brain's index finger past his lips, smiled around it when he met his stare again.

Brain let out a shaky breath, his hips beginning to rock in careful, slow motions. "Pinky," he murmured, "that's..." It should've been repulsive, but the eroticism was impossible to deny. He could feel warmth coiling in him again, reddening his cheeks, and slowly working its way down. "Your tongue is..."

Pinky sucked on the digit, humming as he tilted his head, inquisitive. But as his brain processed the rocking of his hips and the flushed cheeks, the simple mouse put two and two together. Blue eyes lit up and he drew a second finger into his mouth, moving his tongue over them purposefully.

"Oh," he breathed, coherent thought slipping away. His eyes went half-lidded and his own tongue slowly slid along his lips. His mouth was so warm and wet, his tongue so mobile. "Pinky, please..."

Slipping his fingers from his mouth, Pinky pressed a small kiss to Brain's palm. "Please what, Brain?" he asked, grinning. His own loins stirring again with the most pleasant buzz as he watched and reveled in Brain's reaction. With a farewell lick to his hand, Pinky grabbed onto his lover's waist and rolled them over. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked down at Brain. He nuzzled his cheek with a loving "narf", then nosed and kissed down his chest until he reached the stickiness and began his licking anew. The fur tickled his tongue in the best ways. Brain's taste and scent flooded his senses, making him dizzy. Pausing after only a few, Pinky raised his eyes to Brain's and asked again, "Please what?"

Brain had propped himself up on his elbows as Pinky had slid down, wanting to watch. He bit his lip, back arching as well as he could make it when Pinky stopped, and a little whimper caught in his throat. Moonlight bathed him, falling over him and creating shadows in his eyes that made him seem almost otherworldly. "That," he managed. "That. Keep... Please, Pinky, your tongue..."

Eyes sparkling and smile growing brighter, Pinky nodded. "Good. I like doing this. Troz." He kissed Brain's stomach before trailing his tongue over and over. Some were short and quick, others were long and slow. He wanted to figure out which kind made which noises, though all of them sent shivers down his spine. Oh, he liked making Brain feel good. Pinky kept his gaze on his face as he lapped, captivated by the blush and the way those pretty pink eyes were watching him. He moved lower, to reach more of the fluid sticking to his fur, nuzzling and kissing his hip. "Gotta clean you all up, Brain," he said playfully, giving him a gentle nibble.

Brain groaned, head falling back at the nibble. "Yes," he whined, wriggling. The differing swipes were rapidly turning the warmth into heat, each one a surprise. On a long slide, he arched into Pinky's tongue, quivering in an effort to hold himself up and get as close as possible. He whimpered, elbows giving out so that he fell back. His legs spread, hips twitching in an effort to get closer, a keening sound escaping as he reached down to stroke Pinky's ears. "Wonderful, Pinky, wonderful..."

"_Naaaaaaarf._"He marveled, mouth eager as it mapped out the contours of one hip before roving up and over to the second one, leaving the middle untouched. Finally, satisfied that a good majority of the seed was gone, Pinky turned his attention to Brain's awakening shaft. "Oh, Brain. Your thingy's messy too." So he clearly had no choice but to clean it as well. A rush of bubbly excitement filled him as he tentatively licked, tongue tracing from base to tip.

He made a helpless sound, legs spreading wider, hips lifting. Moremoremore- "_Yes_," he moaned. The gentle, encouraging strokes he'd been delivering to Pinky's ears changed, fingers tightening and clinging. That was simply stunning. "Ah- mm- nn...!"

Encouraged by the familiar exclamation, Pinky continued to explore this new bit of anatomy with his tongue. It was so warm, slender, and the scent of Brain was so strong and heady. Practically intoxicating. Arousal pulsed deep in his gut, his nerves thrumming with each delicious sound. Just as delicious as Brain himself. He brought his hands over to grasp his partner's hips, holding them still as his mouth encased Brain's length. His head bobbed, pleasurable sparks filling it as his ears twitched under Brain's grip.

Brain cried out, fingers running through the ruffled fur atop Pinky's head. He wanted to move his hips, whimpered and whined when he couldn't. "Pinky, Pinky, Pinky...!" So hot. His mouth was so hot and wet, surrounding him. "Yes, please," he moaned, gazing down at Pinky, watching himself disappear again and again into that wet heat. Oh, this was even better than before. He hadn't quite believed anything would be better.

Oh, oh, each time he said his name like that made him shudder with delight and arousal. Keeping his gaze fixated on Brain's, Pinky released a moan of his own around him, relaxing his throat to take as much of him as possible. He started sucking, as if drinking from the water bottle, eager and thirsty for more of this essence that was purely Brain. His own hips started rocking, meeting air with each thrust.

Oh. Oh, no, he couldn't take that. On a loud keening sound, Brain's head fell back. He gripped Pinky's ears, head tossing side to side, sounds escaping that he simply couldn't control. Snatches of pleas reached his ears, but it was almost like they were coming from somewhere else entirely. He was focused on that mouth, those lips, that tongue. He tried to lift his hips, feeling himself beginning to tense. Oh-! Oh-! "Pinky, I'm- It's- Pinky!"

If anything, he was only encouraged. Pinky rubbed soothing circles into his hips. He teased the tip right before he gave a particularly long, hard suck, hollowing out his cheeks and savoring the feel of him on his tongue as he brought Brain to the brink.

With a long, loud outcry of his lover's name, Brain arched his back as he came. His hips twitched, trying to thrust further into that delightful warmth. So good, Pinky. So good. He tried to say it, but nothing came out. He couldn't even breathe for those few moments of release.

Pinky drank it all down. At first it startled him, but he managed to keep from coughing or choking even though some spilled out his lips. He gave the softening shaft a farewell lick before lifting his head to look at Brain, his heart beating wildly. Blue eyes were wide with adoration and love and the faintest hint of lust. He wiggled up to rub his nose against Brain's, petting his head. "Brain? Poit. Are you okay, Brain?"

"Yes," he breathed when he could. He lifted a trembling hand to the back of Pinky's head, pulled him into a kiss. He moaned, his own taste mixing and blending with what was innately Pinky. It was deliciously erotic and so very intimate. "That was perfect," he murmured and slid his other hand slowly down Pinky's back. "You didn't, ah...?" He arched a little, feeling Pinky's very clear arousal. "Oh." No, he hadn't.

"Poit. No, I guess I didn't." Pinky hummed, glancing down between them. It was an interesting kind of ache, not quite painful, but it definitely ached for something. He squirmed, a bit uncomfortable now without Brain's lovely distractions. When he thought of the faces and sounds Brain had been making, it throbbed and he bit his lip.

Brain licked his lips, gaze flicking down. It was only fair that he return the favor and, well, he was undeniably curious. Cleaning Pinky's fur was a bit too distasteful at the moment, but he could go directly to the heart of the matter, as it was. "Well..." He laid a hand on Pinky's chest, giving him a careful shove. "Perhaps I should make sure that you do."

Pinky obediently rolled onto his back, watching Brain with inquisitive eyes. "Brain?" Anticipation coiled in his belly and his length gave another painful throb, his body understanding what his mind couldn't yet perceive.

Brain gave him a brief kiss and a gentle nuzzle, pressing their cheeks together. "Try and keep your hips still while I attempt this, Pinky. If you gag me, I shall have to hurt you." His tongue darted out, flicked over the base of Pinky's ear before he started making his way down. He used his hands, stroking down along Pinky's sides, caressing down to his hips. A little nervous about going straight to his glistening pink length, Brain nuzzled his inner thigh, tongue lapping.

Propping himself up to watch, Pinky shivered and whimpered, parting his thighs readily for Brain. The one receiving attention quivered and the taller mouse had to swallow several times. "I... I thought you didn't like grooming, Brain..."

"This is... different, Pinky." His scent was strong and heady, tugging at his instincts and impossible to ignore. Brain slid his hands to Pinky's hips, cupping them and giving a gentle squeeze as his mouth shifted to the pouch. He nudged it carefully, a little uncertain since Pinky hadn't done this to him. But at the way Pinky's breath seemed to catch, the megalomaniac grew a little bolder and licked it, drawing a section into his mouth to suck firmly.

"Egad...!" His arms trembled as his back arched. It felt so much better than good, the ways to describe it escaping him. Brain's mouth, so warm and wet, it made him warm all over, even in his ears and toes. Pinky spread his legs wider, breaths coming in shallow and unsteady. "Brain..."

"Just relax, Pinky." Pushing down on his hips, settling himself between Pinky's legs, Brain kissed up the length of his lover's sex. He kept the kisses warm, tongue slipping out to taste with each one. It was unusual, but not nearly as bad as he'd been expecting. It was just Pinky. He closed his lips over the head, the tip of his tongue teasing the slit, tasting the fluids that leaked from it. He'd read that the taste depended on diet, quietly marveled that Pinky's rather disgusting eating habits left this far sweeter than he'd expected. But he quickly turned his mind away from the things Pinky ate and gave a small suck, taking in more, ears perked and awaiting.

Pinky whined with each kiss, all of them teasing and making his head fuzzy. But as that hot mouth enveloped him slowly, he moaned lowly, head lolling to the side as he tried to keep from rolling his hips. His lashes fluttered, determined to stay open. "Ohhh... oh, Brain..." He reached out for him, forgetting that his elbows were what were keeping him propped up, and slid to lie flat against the counter top.

Brain gave his hips another squeeze, pressing them down so his mouth could slide lower and take more in. He couldn't get it all, nervous at the prospect of gagging, so released one hip to let his hand work on the rest. He squeezed, fingers massaging, and turned his gaze up to watch Pinky's reactions.

At least he could keep his head lifted, half-lidded blue eyes latching onto familiar pink ones. His face flushed darkly, mouth parted and panting. "Naaaaaarf," he whimpered, heat flooding him, making his whole body one big, tingly mess. "Brain! Egad, Brain! Mmmm-!" It was so good, made even better by the thought that Brain was actually doing this. Pinky made a high-pitched keening sound and tossed his head back.

Brain's head bobbed slowly, moving a little faster at the encouraging sounds. He managed to swallow a little more, humming around his length. His tongue lapped eagerly, thoroughly enjoying his ability to make his companion so needy. He kneaded Pinky's hip, his other hand sliding down to squeeze the pouch.

"Brain! Oh, oh-!" The vibrations from his humming nearly drove him out of his mind with pleasure. He writhed helplessly, pinned by both the hand on his hip and the order Brain had given him. Pinky buried his fingers in Brain's fur, raking along the top of his head. "Please, Brain! Please!" He didn't even know what he was asking for, he just knew he needed it. His legs tried to spread more. Oh, he needed it. The pressure was steadily building in his belly, delicious and overwhelming and he couldn't help but sob softly as his breath hitched. It felt so _good_. "Please...!"

Brain slid both hands to Pinky's tensing thighs, squeezing them. He gave a hard suck, cheeks hollowing as Pinky's had for him. He gave the smallest of nods, trying to give Pinky permission, and prepared. _Come, Pinky._

"Brain-!" With a strangled moan, Pinky arched his back, spilling his seed into Brain's awaiting mouth. He shuddered, curling his fingers and toes, as he tossed his head from side to side. It seemed to last forever, the shock of completion, until he lay spent and sprawled on the counter.

Brain couldn't swallow it all, hadn't been as prepared for the unusual sensation of cum shooting down his throat as he'd thought. But he lapped hungrily, swallowing what he could and cleaning the rest off of Pinky's spent shaft before crawling up and collapsing onto him. He was the one to catch sight of their reflections that time, blushing deeply. They'd been giving anyone who cared to look quite the show. With a possessive little hum, he turned his head and pressed his lips to Pinky's.

He kissed back lazily, enjoying how they tasted together now. Blinking slowly, Pinky's eyes sparkled with absolute affection. "I love you, Brain." He stroked Brain's ears before resting his hands on his back to cuddle with him.

The Brain was too tired and too sated to stop the words. He supposed he'd already admitted to it anyway when he'd gone on his rant, so... He rested their noses together, half-lidded eyes gazing into Pinky's. "I... love you too."

Pinky giggled quietly and kissed him again, smiling against his lips. It filled him with contentment to have Brain's warmth and weight resting on top of him, it felt right. They fit together so well; Pinky and The Brain. "Does this mean we're married now for real?" Pinky asked, pressing his lips to Brain's chin.

He supposed, being mice, they didn't need exact records. They didn't have anything for their adoption of Cici, after all. "Yes, Pinky, we're married for real."

"Naaaaaaarf." He awed, hugging Brain tightly. "Oh, this is the happiest day of my life! Egad, I told myself I wouldn't cry." Pinky sniffled, rubbing his cheek against Brain as tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

"Pinky, you're overly emotional about everything. Of course you're going to cry." He shut his eyes, snuggling down. "We should... return to the cage, Pinky. We're in the window."

"I know. Poit. You look so lovely with the stars and the moon, Brain." Pinky reached up to stroke his head. "And the feck. I think you found it, Brain." Nuzzling him gently, the taller mouse pushed himself up into a sitting position, keeping Brain cuddled against his chest as he stood up. His own fur was still a little sticky, he'd have to wash himself off before bedtime.

And the feck. Unsure which warmed him more - embarrassment at being carried or embarrassment from the compliment - Brain pressed his flushed face against Pinky's shoulder. "Yes, Pinky, I believe I've found it as well."

Pinky hummed with approval and carried his husband - ooh, he liked the sound of that - to their cage. He pulled back the blankets on Brain's side, then set the smaller mouse down. Rubbing their noses together, he smiled brightly at him. "I'll be just a second, Brain," Pinky informed him before turning about in search of a wash cloth of some kind.

Brain watched him quietly, folding his hands over his stomach and wondering if Romy would be agreeable enough to take care of Cici for a few extra days, but the idea was dismissed almost immediately. The stubborn child would never let him live that down - neither of them. "Pinky, what are you doing?"

"I'm still sticky, Brain." Pinky explained, patting his stomach, procuring a piece of cloth from under their bed. Boa was still there too! Maybe he'd use it tomorrow night as a surprise for Brain. "I can't go to bed with my tummy all like this, my fur will get all a-tangle and then it'll hurt like the time I got covered in bubblegum."

"Hopefully we wouldn't have to shave you like we did then. You had patchy fur for weeks." Brain started to close his eyes, but they sprang back open, brow furrowing. A _bath_. Drat. A bubblebath would've provided enough lubrication for... Hm. He would have to keep that in mind. In the back of his mind. In the furthest corners of his mind to only be pondered upon when appropriate.

Cloth in hand, Pinky skipped over to the sink. He wobbled a little as he went, still feeling the effects of their activities in his knees. "Brain, you turned my knees to jelly! _Zort!_" he laughed, turning on the water to moisten the wash cloth. He was too tired for a real bath, so he settled for the damp cloth and some soap, rubbing it over his belly until all the clumped fur was free.

"A veritable dream come true," he muttered, ignoring the rather pleasant thought that it was in a way. "Come to bed now, Pinky. If we awaken early enough, perhaps we can have proper baths before the scientists arrive."

"Oh, with bubbles and rubber ducks and bottle caps, Brain?" Pinky danced over, actually remembering to close the cage door behind him. He pounced on the bed, rear wiggling in the air as he burrowed into the blankets, his tummy still a little damp. When he finally poked his head out, he smiled adoringly at Brain and wrapped his arms around him.

"Not with rubber ducks and bottle caps, but I wouldn't be adverse to bubbles." There was a wicked gleam to The Brain's eyes as he flicked a glance at his sidekick. "Actually, bubbles may prove to be very... useful."

The gleam made him shiver in a good way, though he didn't quite know why. "For bubble castles?" Pinky asked, nuzzling the curve where Brain's neck and shoulder met.

"Pinky, your innocent mind only serves as punishment for my own lecherous thoughts." Brain turned his head and pressed a kiss to the back of his ear. "Sleep now, Pinky."

"'Kay," Pinky sighed and closed his eyes, breathing in deep the warm scent of his companion. "I love you, Brain. Goodnight."

There was a brief beat of silence, Brain not quite comfortable uttering the words a second, or technically third, time in one evening. But he gave Pinky a gentle nuzzle and hoped he understood the words that were in the motions. "Goodnight," he murmured.

* * *

Taken from StarShineDC's dA account:

THE END!  
How nice of a horrid family reunion to end so pleasantly~  
And now that they're married... TIME FOR A HONEYMOON  
In the spirit of honeymoons, of course, _Trouble in Paradise_ is going to be rife with love things  
So be prepared! That one should go up soon enough~


End file.
